Author's Notes: If people didn't get it previously, the disclaimer in the prologue still applies here. Oh, right. Before people shoot me for not pointing out writing styles. More later. wishes hard for an english keyboard here

"..." spoken

'...' thoughts

Sadame no Tsubasa : Wings of Destiny

Chapter 1: The Usual Days

Jolted from her rest, a young woman suddenly sat up straight, sweating and trying to gather her wits about her. Calming down, she found herself in quite a different situation than she expected. Instead of the familiar pink nightgown, she was wearing her usual training outfit. A light crimson tunic with short white sleeves lined in gold adorned her body. A simple white leather belt snaked around her waist from which an unfamiliar winged sword hung, sheathed in a slender pink scabbard. White leather winged boots and a simple white cape completed the outfit.

Her face crinkled as she considered her surroundings. A far cry from the warm, comfortable bed and blankets, thick fog surrounded her, the grass below her feet barely visible despite the light around her. A rough, grey stone acted as support as she lay back and continued searching for some familiar landmarks aside from the stone at her back.

'Where am I... why am I here...'

As if in answer to her wonderings, a furious wind enveloped her. Taken aback, she raised her arms to shield herself from the barrage, only to lower it as the wind died down. Taking another look at her surroundings, she found that the fog had cleared some, revealing a few trees and an odd-looking well to her right.

The well was circular and made of the same grey rock that she was resting against. Spaced equidistantly along the top of the well's walls were several small three-sided pyramids, each pyramid made of a different type of stone. Just as she was about to count how many, the water started glowing in a gentle blue, drawing her curiosity.

Looking into the water, she considered what she saw. Bright emerald eyes looked back at her from an curious face, framed by short auburn locks. Upon seeing vague reflections of some people standing behind her, she looked back only to see fog. Frowning delicately, she looked back at the water. The reflections remained.

Sakura...

"Hoe? Who's there...?" She looked wildly around, trying to find the etheral voice. 'Funny, it sounded like a woman,' but she wasn't sure. 'Maybe a fair-voiced man?'

Sakura, I'm sorry...

'Oniichan? Him apologizing? The day he beats Yukito-san is the day he'll apologize. Which will be never! Hmph.'

Sakura... Sakura-sama... Sakura-hime... Sakura-san... Sakura...!

With another furious gust of wind, the fog completely cleared, revealing the forest clearing around her, the sun shining bright ahead. But that changed, as the sun started to turn black, bringing darkness all around her. Sakura looked up defiantly at the sun, trying to will the sun back to its former shining self. But the sun wouldn´t change back, eventually becoming a black eye surrounded by an angry red-orange halo. Three pulses of red-orange flame later from that black sun, the world was awash in that all-consuming fire. It ate away at the earth and skies, burned away the trees, and Sakura could only notice an oddly familiar warmth even as it ate away at her own body...

"Hoeee?" Sakura sat upwards, looking very much wide-eyed. After making sure that no body parts were burnt or missing, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yokatta... ara?"

"...ra-sama! Sakura-sama! Breakfast is ready!"

"Hai! I'll be there shortly!"

At the sound of receding footsteps, Sakura stretched and slid out of bed. Slipping out of her nightgown, she gingerly stepped in front of the simple wooden chest at the foot of her bed. Pulling out her training outfit, she put aside her sword and cape; they would only get in the way at breakfast, afterall. As she dressed and finally left her room towards the breakfast room, she pondered the previous night's dream.

"All those voices... why me?"

Her train of thought was broken as she was greeted by some of the servants, Sakura cheerfully replying "Ohayo!" As she passed one of the courtyards, the fountain at the center caught her attention, a trio of pyramids adorning the rim of the lower basin. Furrowing her brow, she paused to peer up at the sun. As expected, the sun shone brightly, showering the land with warmth.

For a few minutes, some servants wondered what had captivated the princess so that she was staring at the sky with such a serious look on her face. Then...

"Hoeee? I'm late!"

Sakura bolted towards the breakfast room, her footsteps echoing loudly in the otherwise quiet corridors. The servants watching smiled - Sakura was Sakura afterall. And everything was normal once again.

In one quiet corner of the palace overlooking one corner of the lake surrounding the palace was the Royal's breakfast room. Today, the sun shone through the stained-glass windows, bathing the central table with multi-colored light. The table was well-laden: freshly baked pastries & breads, ripe fruits and juices, and more. Around said table sat 3 men, all of different age and garb.

"Sakura-chan sure is late," the eldest said, his long white hair shot through with light-brown.

The other two remained silent, the elder of the two smiling gently while the youngest merely grabbed an apple from the fruit basket. Just before he could take a bite, a Sakura-shaped projectile shot into the room, shattering the peace & quiet. Gasping for breath, she straightened out her outfit before taking her seat. The boy took a large bite out of his apple and chewed loudly.

"Ohayo, Sakura-san." Fujitaka greeted, looking every much the king in his royal blue robes.

Finally swallowing, Touya glanced at Sakura and smirked. "Leave it to a Kaijuu to be so loud."

"Onii-chan!" Sakura angrily raised her fist, and even Touya had to cringe a bit. Years of stomped feet did little to diminsh the pain of an aching shin. Touya yelped after a shin-kick from Sakura. With Touya muttering, and Sakura having a smug look on her face, Yukito decided to step in.

"Itadakimasu!" He started eating with his usual gusto, soon followed by Fujitaka.

Both siblings blushed before joining their father and Yukito-san. Seeing food disappear as quickly as it did before Yukito for years instilled fears of missing meals due to fighting.

Just as they were finishing, Yukito eyed the two younger Kinomotos.

"Twenty laps around the castle, both of you."

"Hoeee?" was Sakura's cry of anguish.

"Why me? The Kaijuu was late," Touya muttered, earning yet another shin-kick from Sakura.

"For being late, and for baiting your sister. Think of it as precious bonding time."

More muttering from Touya answered the proclamation.

A few hours and twenty laps later, Sakura and Touya were standing before Yukito amid a rectangular grass field. Surrounding the three of them was a beautiful courtyard full of blossoms and a large tree off to one side of the field. Simple gravel paths lined with rough stones led back to the clean, orderly corridors of the palace.

"Warm up, children. We have an audience."

Just as he said, the royal guards were watching intently from one of the corridors, taking and placing bets on the day's events. But, contrary to the usual, on a balcony overlooking the practice field was their father. As the two siblings did their practice forms, Yukito observed them closely.

Touya was attired much like his sister, wearing a dark blue tunic with white short sleeves lined in gold, which was cinched at the waist with a black leather belt. Matching dark blue pants covered his lower half, with black leather boots on his feet. A similar white cape shrouded his body, while an elegant 2-handed silver longsword hung from his waist. That sword was now in use, cutting through the air in wide, sweeping arcs with a practiced precision. A calm look was on Touya's face as he ran through the routines.

Sakura was almost the opposite of her brother in style, a lighter shortsword flashing through the air in a series of slices and stabs. While Touya kept his feet on the ground during his sword dance, Sakura often took to the air during her routines, using a style of her own devising.

"Enough!" Yukito finally called. "Face off, you two. Magic and swords today, so anything goes."

Sakura grinned. Touya grimaced. The moment magic came in, it evened things out between the two siblings, balancing Touya's years of experience with the sword against Sakura's natural talent with magic. As the two turned to face each other, the guards bustled, recalculating odds and placing more bets.

Yukito pulled from his ear a silver earring with a sapphire stud. With a quick gesture, it elongated into a long silver staff where an ornate silver cresent moon flanked by stars stood proudly at the tip. Shouting "Begin!", he jabbed the unadorned tip into the ground. A silver-colored box-shaped barrier sprang to life, just enough to cover the grass field. Not a moment later did the two combatants in the barrier spring to action.

Tsuzuku...

Post Author's Notes:

So, almost 2 weeks in Europe, and now more than ever do I wish that I had a lap top, or even the possibility to use a standard English keyboard. I do apologize for the late? update. Internet access isn't cheap over here, and less accessible during a coach tour (writing during a coach tour is very very hard...). At the very least, I have a good amount of the story outlined now, so it should come out a bit quicker. Thanks Muse profusely Again, reviews would be awesome, and speaking of reviews, thanks to those who did. )

Now, to write chapter 2... oh how I need to work on writing fight scenes...

Quick dictionary (Just in case):

Ohayo - Good Morning
Hai - Yes, Okay
Itadakimasu - traditional saying before a meal, literally "I receive."
Onii-chan - Elder/Big brother
Kaijuu - Monster, Touya's nickname of sorts for Sakura
Yokatta - I'm glad, I'm relieved