A/N: By popular demand, I bring you the first chapter of my new work! It's going to be alternating perspectives between characters, depending on where my focus is, but I will always have it marked to avoid confusion. I really hope you enjoy this. I love the idea!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or anything in thereof. I own this idea, which was actually spawned as a new comic--one I'm still doodling out in my many sketchbooks--but in the meantime thought it would make a cool new project.


Self-less

Chapter 1


Kagome


"You don't have to do this Kagome."

In that moment, I hated my mother.

I knew I didn't have to do it. I had known it since I had agreed to this in the first place. I had known it since before I even began thinking about accepting the offer. I didn't have to do it. No one ever said I did. But this wasn't just about me, and what I wanted. This was about my people, my responsibilities as their princess.

The war between us had raged on too long, too fiercely. Too many of the Fey had lost their lives on the bloody swords of the Daemon. I had lost a father five years before, and a brother just one week ago. His death was what firmed my resolve.

I, the Crowned Princess of the Fey, would marry the Dark Prince of the Daemon.

"You really don't," spoke my cousin from her position behind us. She was third in line for the throne when my brother lived, but now that he was seven days gone, she was to inherit after me. It was a fact that both terrified and embarrassed her.

"It doesn't matter if I have to or not," I said, slightly more forceful than I intended. "I will marry him regardless."

"Oh Kagome," my mother said, tears in her eyes as she turned me to face her. "You are just one girl. You can only do so much."

"And it will not be enough until I can end the war, Mother," I said. It was something I had said reflexively. In truth, I was terrified of my fate. I didn't want to marry a stranger, let alone a Daemon prince. I had never wanted to marry at all.

But my brother was gone now.

Long had we planned in the night when we were small. I would be Queen, and I would make him my heir so that I could travel the world and he could command the Fey army, as he so longed to do. Long had my brother and I plotted secret dreams, lost in the night, never to be whispered again.

After we lost our father, dreams died with him. I would be Queen, and I would go as my mother had. I would rule our people with quiet dignity and grace. My brother joined the army then, though he was only twelve at the time. He grew into a solider, and forgot the games we had used to play.

I was three years older than my brother, though he seemed to mature faster than I did. Our father's death changed him, forced him to age faster. I wanted to remain as I was, but it was impossible. That was when I took to venture out on the battlefield, to walk among the dead and comfort the dying. Something I had done since I was fifteen.

The people called me the Mercy Queen, a vision of promise that led dying soldiers safely into the afterlife. I wish they wouldn't glorify me so. I'm just one girl. One princess.

I walked among them so that I could know it was real. I had spent most of my life in my mother's hall, walking the safe corridors and playing in the chambers. Nothing evil touched the golden halls of the Queen of Fey. It was too safely hidden in the depths of our forest. Too protected by the Fey army. All of the people would sacrifice themselves to save the hall, to save the Queen of the Fey. Their loyalty is absolute.

What Queen could I be if mine was not the same?

I was not the only one who was touched by tragedy. I was not the only one who had lost those who were precious, those never to be replaced. I was not the only one who grieved. I would not hide away in the hall any longer. I would not pretend that the life of the Fey was as glorious and unfettered as the way it had been portrayed in stories and songs. The way that humans thought we were.

They called us Faeries. Small, winged creatures that were born in flowers and played tricks. But that are only the tiny Fey, the stupid Fey. They are the ones with no power of their own, who steal it from the forest and use it for their amusement. They are the wild Fey not bound to our kingdom or our laws.

They aren't welcome in our halls.

I am not one of those stupid Fey. But I wish that I were right now, so that I can escape my fate thanks to ignorance and a short attention span.

My cousin shuffled behind me, clasping her hands behind her back in a costmary hold used by soldiers. I watched her in the mirror, smiling slightly.

Daughter of my mother's only sister. The daughter of a human. Some called her unnatural, a half-breed begot of lower life forms. I had heard whispering in the hall, as I know she has. She never complains, and I have not heard her once comment about the whispers and the stares. In all my life, I have loved none other better than I love my cousin, who has been at my side all of my life.

"Sango," I said softly. She looked up, straightening her spine. Her eyes, a deep shade of brown, stare back at me from the mirror.

"Kagome?" she responds, smiling in her own right. When we were walking among the Fey, she could never address me so informally, despite the blood relation between us.

"Come to me," I said lightly, holding out a hand. She came, her steps barely making a sound across the crushed velvet rug on which she tread. She went to one knee beside me, taking my hand in her own, pressing it lightly to her forehead before rising.

I always loved to watch Sango. Her movements were controlled and fluid, like a cat's. Every muscle honed to the slightest movement, always alert and ready for action. She was lean built, all sinew and bone and soft curves. She never wore the fashions of her station. Instead, she wore the plain tunics and hosen of a solider, dyed to match the forest's colors. Deep greens and browns did her justice, I always thought. Sango was a creature of the forest. Dark brown hair, darker eyes, skin the color of inner bark. Her life was spent on the outskirts of the forest, directing humans through the twisting paths of our home for a modest price, and for information of the human world.

Because of her father, Sango had no wings. She looked in all ways like a human, except for her Fey-pointed ears and her ability to speak the tongues of the forest. Only a creature with Fey blood could speak the language of the Fey, Daemon, and Trees.

Sango was only three seasons older than me, but she held a maturity and sense of reality that far outweighed mine. She had pledged herself to my service when I was sixteen, giving her life, her loyalty, and her sword in my name and no other. She also gave me her love and confidence, which I needed far more than a sword.

I could endure a thousand Daemon swords for Sango.

"What do you wish of me, Princess?" she asked, her voice as sweet as honey.

"Tell a girl to bring tea?" I asked with a smile. "I need to calm my nerves."

She grinned. "Of course."

She left the chamber, understanding my need for a moment with my mother without any interruptions. And there had been numerous, since the Daemon messenger had arrived that morning, announcing that the Prince and his people had reached the lake shore and awaited our arrival.

The Black Lake was the border of our kingdoms. A place that even humans feared to near because of the dark magic said to dwell beneath the dark waters. Nothing living was in the lake. It was poison to drink. But it was beautiful at night, deceptively so, to lull the unwary into it's clutches. My wedding was to be held on the shores at nightfall.

"I have to do this, Mother," I said quietly.

"No, you don't," she protested. "There are other ways. Treaties and offerings--"

"That have been tried and failed, over and over, for centuries."

"Then we can think of something else!"

"I already have," I finished. She heard the finality in my voice.

"Your father would hate to see you this way," she said, striking home the blow I had not been sure she would loose. I flinched anyway, knowing she was correct. My father was a firm advocate against the war, but he had wanted me to marry a Fey of good blood. He would never have permitted me to agree to such a bargain as this.

"My father is not here," I reminded. "Because of this war."

My mother shook her head sadly. She looked older as I looked at her, though Fey don't age after a certain time. Our kind is said to be immortal, but the wars had irradiated much of our older ranks. It was rare to see a Fey of more than one hundred in this day.

"I will retired for now," she said quietly. "We leave within the hour."

"Yes, Mother," I said, bowing lightly. She turned to leave, the train of her long black mourning gown drifting behind her. She had worn black much in the past years. First for her parents, then her sister, followed by my father. Now my brother. My mother's eyes, soft hazel, seemed less bright than they had in recent memory. Her skin, less radiant. Her wings didn't shimmer with light. And what beautiful wings my mother had. All the royal family had layered wings of blue and green, like tiny dragonfly wings overlapping into membranes strong enough to carry a full sized creature.

My wings are the same, smaller to fit my size, and sharper cut. I inherited the shape from my father, who had the wings of a strong solider bloodline. I inherited much from my father, his eyes and his hair and his skin, and only few things from my mother. Souta had been like our mother while I, the eldest, was like our father.

I looked at the mirror in front of me again. It was my favorite one, old and gilded in polished wood. It had hung on the wall in my chamber all of my life. Made for a distant aunt many centuries ago when the golden hall was first constructed in the heart of the forest. A hall I would be leaving very soon.

I looked at the mirror, and wished I knew what my father would say. I wished I knew what Souta would say. He had often been my voice of reason.

I touched trembling fingers to cold glass and felt my eyes overflow. I hate crying, it's a sign of weakness and lack of sense, but this seemed appropriate. No one could see my shame. No one would know that the Mercy Queen regretted her righteous decision to marry a Daemon she had never met.


Sango


I passed my Aunt as I neared the door to the chamber, silver tray in my arms.

She covered it well, but I could see the trace of weeping in her eyes. I saw how her proud head was bent, how her shoulders were hunched. She grieved for a daughter not yet lost, and a son whose funeral pyre was barely cold.

I wish that I had a gift for words more than I have, a more clever tongue. I was never gifted with speech. I was born to fight. I did my speaking with my hands, my sword, and my bow. Kagome understood that, and she never troubled me over my lack of vocabulary. She was fond of my bluntness.

"Take heart, Aunt," I said as I passed her. I did not often use the informal title, and never when there were people who could hear it. The Fey were a proud race, who prided themselves on reserve and tradition. "All is not lost."

"It is lost, Sango," she said with defeat coloring her voice. "Kagome will be the Daemon's sacrifice."

I shook my head as she walked past, knowing she was wrong. Kagome would never be a lamb to the slaughter. There was too much fire in her. Her mother saw only the child in her, not the woman who had usurped that child.

I wrapped my knuckles across the door before pushing it open and walking in. Kagome still stood before the mirror, dressed in the gown she'd wear to her wedding. She was crying, and my heart wrenched.

For as long as I can remember, Kagome has been in my care. My mother died long before I could remember her, and I never knew my human father. My Aunt and her consort loved me as they would their own child, and took me in when others would have cast me out. I was trained to protect the princess, and I swore an oath to defend her with my life. I belonged to Kagome, and she to me. Cousins by blood, but sisters in heart.

Her pain was my pain.

I placed the tray down on a small table and went to her side, falling to one knee as customary, but then rising to my feet. "Kagome," I said searchingly. "Cousin, I beg you, don't cry."

"I'm sorry," she said with a watery chuckle, wiping her eyes with a hand. "I didn't want anyone to see me this way."

"You have every right," I told her. "This is a very unhappy arrangement."

"But one I must make."

"For the good of the Fey," I agreed, but inside I did not. I warred briefly whether I should speak my heart or not, but Kagome had always wished me to speak plain for her. "Would that I could take your place," I said, touching my hand to her arm briefly. It was forbidden to touch a princess without her consent, but Kagome had always schooled me to disobey such rules when we were alone. "I would take your pain in a moment."

"Ah," she said with a smile, tears dried now. "But then you would be the princess, and I would be the solider."

I tugged on a lock of her hair. "You can't be a solider," I said fondly. "You don't have the stomach for it."

Kagome smiled brightly. I smiled back, content that she was brightening. Kagome, my dearest cousin, was the Fey's most precious treasure. We might have gold and gems that rival the realm of humans, but our true power lies within our Queen. My Aunt's reign was waning, consumed by too much grief and war. Kagome's time was coming now, brightened by the prospect of peace, and by the new Queen herself.

I doubt she is even aware of it, how much she is adored by the people. She walks among them daily, loves them so completely. The soldiers fight for her; the people work for her. She is our living future, and I don't think there is a Fey in the forest that would not sacrifice to be in her place, to spare her the darkness that will surely ebb at her after the marriage to the Daemon.

Kagome straightened her back and smoothed her skirt with trembling hands. "I need to ask you something," she began.

"I am yours to command," I remind her. And oath and a promise was made, and I would never break it.

"I ask this, cousin to cousin," she said. Blue eyes looked beseechingly up at me. "Sister to sister." I nodded, prompting her on. "When I leave for my...husband's realm," she nearly choked on the word. My hand found one of hers and squeezed in encouragingly. I knew what she was about to ask as sure as I knew what my answer would be. "Will you...accompany me?"

"Of course, princess," I agreed with a bow.

"To stay," she said, more urgently. "Not just as an escort. I need you to stay with me there or surely I will die for loneliness."

"I have no intention of leaving you alone in the Daemon palace," I told her firmly. "I made an oath to you once, that my life and loyalty are yours above all others. I go where you go, Kagome. My life is yours."

Her blue eyes sparkled once more, then flung her arms around me.

I was startled at first. She had not evoked such a physical action in years. I did not return it, thinking it far too brazen for a solider to embrace the princess. She pulled back a moment later and smiled at me again. Her wings--the beautiful blue-green wings that I have always envied her for--fluttered in her joy.

"Come," I said, smiling again. "I have brought your tea. Drink before it gets cold."

"Join me?" she asked.

"I have to finish packing for the trip," I reminded her. She nodded and left the mirror in favor of the screen across the room to change from her gown.

I sighed, just a little bit jealous.

Kagome is beauty. I don't mean just pretty, or just inner beauty. She is one of the Faerie maidens of old, that human men had spent their lives trying to paint and describe. The kind that struck mortals blind. Songs and poems, verse upon verse written in the name of faceless Faerie Queens and fey maidens that paled in comparison to my cousin.

Every movement she made was just graceful enough to make her float. The shadows were kind, the light was kinder, and the moonlight shined for Kagome alone. Her black hair, her blue eyes, her alabaster skin...beauty unparalleled by any creature in the forest, or the human realm, and even the Daemon kingdom.

She was innocent of it, of course. And even if she knew, her heart was too kind to ever use it in any kind of game or advantage. She was purity in it's element. Without her light, even the golden hall would surely seem dark.

"Sango?" she asked. I snapped my head around, breaking my concentration as I looked over to the screen. Her wedding gown was hanging neatly over the top and she emerged from the screen in one of her usual dresses.

"Yes?" I asked, stepping to the screen and removing the gown. I rang a small bell on the door so a servant would come and fetch it to be packed on the carriage.

"You have been to the Daemon realm," she said thoughtfully, taking a dainty seat and preparing her tea.

"Twice," I said easily, opening the door for the small servant Fey and handing her the precious gown. Then I closed the door and crossed the spacious chamber to her bed. A large trunk sat open at the bottom, and various gowns were strewn across the bed. My Aunt had been digging again, picking what was accustomed a princess of Fey rather than what Kagome would wear.

"Tell me what it's like," she begged.

I had told her several times since her agreement to marry the prince, but I would tell her as many times as she needed to hear. To ease her fears.

"It is not so horrible as the rumors say," I told her, picking up a deep green gown that I knew was my Uncle's favorite. "It's not as lush as the forest, trees there are scarce and small, but the land is green and full of hills and streams."

"But there are rocks, aren't there?"

I smiled, packing another gown. "Yes, there are rocks. Mountains the humans call them. Great hills of stone, covered with ice at the peaks. There is land between them, and that land is green. The great Daemon palace is within the heart of the largest mountain. It's carved in the heart, where it's warm, and the halls are polished smooth. It is not very much different from the golden hall."

"I'm sure it's very different," she grumbled, drinking her tea.

I laughed. "I suppose it is," I relented. "But it's very beautiful. At night, you can hear the wolves howl in the valleys, and falcons roost in the very windows of the palace."

"Real falcons? Up close?" Kagome leaned forward in her seat. Her love of birds was widely known, especially her love of the large birds of prey. But only the rare hawk ever traveled into the Fey forest.

"Yes," I told her with a nod. "And many other creatures live up there as well. I'm sure you could speak to them all." I saw her smile, and knew that she was plotting adventures already.

"I'm sure it will be much better with you there," she said, blushing faintly.

I smiled. "I go where you go, princess."

"Always?" she ventured meekly.

I snapped the lid of her trunk firmly. "Always," I agreed. Her smile contented me.

There was a knock at the chamber door and a servant appeared. "Forgive me, princess," she said remorsefully. "The carriage is ready and your mother bids you time to depart."

I saw Kagome gather her strength. "Thank you," she mustered, nodding her head in dismissal. The teary-eyed servant practically bolted from the room. Kagome would sorely be missed here.

"Come, cousin," I beckoned regally. "We can't keep your mother waiting."

"Heavens not," she agreed. I rang the bell for a servant to come for the trunk. "Sango?" she asked again.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Have you...ever seen the prince of the Daemon?"

I was surprised. She had not asked about the Dark Prince. I don't think it really mattered to her what he looked like, she would go through with the wedding to a faceless man for the sake of her people.

"I saw him, once," I answered. "It was nearly fours years ago, and it was only briefly that I was before his father when accompanying a trading caravan. He stood beside his father's throne, and my eyes were mostly downcast."

"Tell me," she asked, a note of desperate urgency in her voice. The servant came for the trunk. I waited until he was gone before continuing.

"Young," I said, recalling the memory. "Perhaps only two or three years older than you. Fair, in skin and hair. I was not close enough to see his eyes. He held himself like a prince, with all the posh arrogance afforded to the title."

"He didn't...look like a demon?" she questioned, and I realized the intent of her questions. She was becoming afraid now that the wedding was here.

"I was too far, dearest princess," I told her. "All I could see were his ears."

"Ears?" she asked, blinking rapidly.

"Like a dog," I said with a half-smile. "Perched on the top if his head. They twitched when I spoke."

"Is that all?"

"That I can remember," I said apologetically.

"Thank you Sango," she said, nodding with a forced smile. "I'm ready now."

I knew she wasn't. I knew her well enough to know that she was far from ready to do anything, but there was no dissuading Kagome from a task she had appointed herself. The best I could do was go with her, offer her my unwavering support and devotion.

We left the golden hall, passing those who lived there with smiles and nods in regard to their tears and anguish. They didn't want Kagome to leave. They would all-too-willingly go back to war if she so much as hinted she was unhappy with her arrangement. Kagome held strong in the face of her people's fear, and I felt I could do nothing but the same.

The carriage awaited us outside of the hall. In the place of horses stood a pair of stags, their tines reaching for the dying sky, ready to pull us to the site of Kagome's wedding. My Aunt was already in the carriage as I assisted Kagome to enter. I would have taken a stag and ridden beside the carriage, as was I accustomed to doing, but Kagome beckoned me inside.

How could I deny her one thing before she sacrificed so much?


A/N: Here it is, the first official chapter! The next chapter introduces my other two main characters (but like I said, perspective changes depending on the focus, so others might get a chance to narrate briefly, and not just those four). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review to let me know what you think!