Disclaimer: I do not own (or wish to own) the Inuyasha series or any characters therein, nor do I own the Prince and the Pauper storyline. Any changes made to either offer no profit to me and are therefore excusable by law. Or...I hope so...


The Princess and the Pauperess


Chapter one


To smile



Princess Kikyou stared from her place by the large, immaculately clean window adorning her bedroom wall. She sighed as she rested her head on her knees, curling into a tighter ball than before. If only I could see from the outside...Her thoughts were erased as the messenger boy entered the room without knocking. Of course.

"Princess," he said as he nodded his head. She didn't miss the smirk playing on his features. She stood and faced him calmly, her dress swishing at her feet.

"Inuyasha," she replied, "you have a message for me?" He grinned and moved towards her. She smiled back at him as he took her hands in his.

"Guess what?" He seemed excited. Kikyou was very curious as to what it was.

"What?" she asked, hoping she didn't seem too eager.

"After all that sh--" he started, but stopped when Kikyou glared at him. "All that crap you do everyday, you have a trip to take." Kikyou's features immediately lit up. A trip! Finally, something to do aside from her everyday drab and droll.

"You mean I finally get out of this prison?"

"Yep," Inuyasha confirmed. Kikyou launched herself into his arms, laughing.

"Finally! Yes!" she exclaimed. Inuyasha nuzzled her neck and she pushed him away. "I'm a princess, remember," she told him. She hated that. If she weren't a princess then marrying him would be no problem for anybody. But as it were, she was betrothed, and marrying Inuyasha would ruin everything for pretty much everyone. He knew as well as she did that her only motive for pushing him away was her position. She could see the loathing for it in his eyes.

"Be careful out there," he told her seriously. "You are a princess, remember." She grinned at him and pressed her lips to his. He jumped back in shock.

"I guess one couldn't hurt." She shrugged and smiled at him. His look softened and he turned to go. They both had their duties. She sighed as her servants streamed into her room, their skirts swishing and their arms either reaching for her or carrying something. It was time to get re-dressed...

. . . . .

"Really? Here?" Kagome asked, swinging her legs over the water of the stream. Miroku, her trusted friend and partner in crime nodded his head earnestly.

"Yep. That's what I heard."

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that a princess would flaunt herself down here?" Sango asked. Kagome's head shot up in surprise.

"Sango!" she exclaimed. "I didn't see you coming."

"She's very sneaky," Miroku noted, nodding his head in finality.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Sango huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm not the one who steals for a living!" Miroku waved his hand around, trying to calm the now fuming girl.

"Settle down for god's sake, I was kidding." Sango's hackles visibly dropped and she sat beside the boy. Her bare feet dipped into the frigid water, and she sighed.

"Did you have a bad day?" Kagome asked, watching a fish swim by, seemingly oblivious to their presence. Sango muttered something that she didn't catch, but it was obvious from the way she'd muttered it that she wanted them to drop the subject.

"What do you think the princess looks like?" Miroku asked, his eyes taking on a wistful gleam.

"Probably like a stuck-up bitch."

"Kagome!" Sango chided. Her voice hit a surprised note, though. Kagome was not one for cursing. "Don't tell me you'd be any different if you were princess."

"I wish I was. Kings don't see their daughters, let alone beat them." The tone of her voice caused the two to look at her.

"You mean it still bothers you?" Sango asked. Kagome glared at the crystal water.

"Just hit him back." Miroku shrugged. "Worked for me." Sango sighed, exasperated.

"It doesn't work that way for girls!"

"Sure it does."

"How would you know? Last time I checked, you were male."

"You checked?"

"Not in that way!"

"Are you sure?"

"Kagome!" A voice called from downstream, towards the town. Kagome stood.

"That's Souta and Shippou. I have to go." With that, she waved to her friends, who waved back and watched her go. She would have hell to pay if she didn't get on it fast enough. And that night, she would go with Miroku again to collect her own earnings. One of these days, she told herself as she walked with Souta and Shippou back to town, I'm going to be free of this prison. And money was the only option.

. . . . .

Kikyou climbed apprehensively into the lavish covered carriage. She'd always wanted to see the world. But, somehow by leaving her cage she felt vulnerable. As if the outside world would crush her small procession without a second thought. It was also somewhat less-than-exciting with the knowledge that she was only passing through the town on her way to meet her betrothed. Why she was even meeting the man before the wedding was beyond her. But if it gave her a chance to see the outside, she was willing. She had requested for Inuyasha to accompany her, but her request was harshly denied. She pulled one of the curtains back enough to peer through.

"Goodbye elder sister!" her little sister Kaede called from Inuyasha's side on the steps. The messenger boy was merely glaring at her, something he did when deep in thought or when experiencing conflicting emotions. Kikyou smiled and blew the two a kiss before sitting back in the carriage. It would take around a day to get through town, and another to reach her betrothed. Kikyou snorted in a very unladylike fashion. There was a reason "betroth" rhymed with "loathe." She was, indeed, in a very loatheful situation. She glanced back outside for a few seconds before deciding to take a nap. It would be a very long journey.

"Kikyou!" Inuyasha called. He sounded angry. Kikyou rose from her current position at the table in time for him to come barreling into the room, growling and glaring in that special way of his.

"What is it Inu--"

"Kikyou!" he repeated, striding across the room and past Kikyou, only to stop near the fainting couch, fuming at a faceless, blurry form that sat, their stance also angry.

"What do you want now? I told you it wasn't me!" The person rose and stood menacingly close to the messenger boy, whose body tensed with now uncomfortable anger. He'd never liked being close to anyone other than Kikyou herself. So who was this that he was fighting with? Was it her, or was it someone else? How could it not be her if he was calling her name?

"It was you, I know it! You," he jabbed an accusatory finger in the person's face, "stole my favorite jacket!" The person harrumphed.

"That nasty piece of shit?" they replied heatedly. "Why in the world would I take that, of all things?" Inuyasha turned towards Kikyou suddenly, catching her off-guard.

"Inuya--" she started, but he didn't seem to hear.

"She's not Kikyou," he stated, his beautiful eyes boring into hers.

Kikyou awoke with a start followed by a scream as the carriage suddenly wobbled dangerously. It shuddered violently as it came to a stop.

"Damn. Of all the luck..." the carriage boy muttered, leaping from his perch.

"What's going on?" One of the guards called as his horse clopped in closer. Kikyou stepped from the carriage, bedraggled and confused. It wasn't two seconds after she'd exited the carriage than it toppled over and off the road.

"Aw, shit!" the carriage boy kicked the ground angrily. "We'll need to get another spoke and some rope to right the carriage." The guard blinked a few times. The carriage boy let out a cry of exasperation. "I have to do everything myself, don't I?" With that, he began stomping down the road towards the town.

"Where's he going?" the guard asked in wonderment.

"It'll be dark before I get back! Set up camp or something!" the carriage boy called over his shoulder. Kikyou couldn't help but smile to herself. An adventure! Finally…

AAR (author's awful rants): Wahaha! I've had this idea for way too long, so I've finally written it all out up to chapter 2. So at least up to there is guaranteed. So, tell me what you think, and if you run across any errors, please tell me in a review so that I can correct them sometime down the road, thanks! Oh, yes. Also, I totally forgot how much a shilling was worth, so if anyone could tell me before I post the next chapter, that would be most helpful! ^_^ Thank you for reading this fic!