Prompt: Size Isn't Everything
Genre: Fairytale
Rating: T
Word Count: 250
Characters: Inu no Taisho, Myoga
Warnings: None
Summary: Service isn't measured by physical size.
Date Posted: 3/15/11
A/N: Based on Aesop's Fable, The Lion and the Mouse.
Once, a flea named Myoga came upon a sleeping inuyoukai. Hungry for blood, Myoga bit him. Rudely awakened, the demon pinched the vermin between his lethal claws, ready to crush him.
"My lord, spare me and I shall serve you faithfully!" begged the tiny insect.
"You?" laughed the demon, "You're too small to be of any use, but your spirit amuses me. I am Touga, and though I am but a poor soldier, I will accept you as my retainer. Come; let us seek our fortune!" Myoga hopped aboard and they set off.
After two days travel, they arrived at the castle of the Western Lands. There they found a city in despair. The inu king, recently deceased, left behind a young, unwed daughter. The city needed a strong protector, but their beautiful princess was cursed. Every suitor she wed died soon after their Mating.
Touga believed in opportunity, not curses. He set about wooing the princess and succeeded in winning her hand.
That night, during the Marking, he felt the sting of her poisonous bite. Stepping away from her dying mate, she gloated, "No male will ever have dominion over me; I shall remain free to do as I please!"
Seeing his master gravely afflicted, Myoga bit him, drawing the poison into his own body where-to his surprise-it was neutralized.
The new Inu no Taisho remained with the princess only until she conceived and bore him a male heir, he spent his days thereafter wandering his lands.
A/N: This was a fun style to write in! I'm happy to say, this not only won first in iyfic_contest, but it was also nominated at the Feudal Association. I'm deeply honored, my thanks to the person who nominated it. Thanks for reading! :)