Disclaimer: Have you ever seen a disclaimer on an original work::shakes her head: Nooooo...so go bother someone else!
Chapter One: Our Story Begins...
Once upon a time; in a great kingdom far, far away; there lived a gentle king and queen with hearts of gold. Their land flourished, their people prospered and milk and honey flowed like water from the streams. In this land, one wanted for naught....
Except one...
The queen of this prosperous land wanted a child desperately, but feared she would never be granted her greatest wish. But one day, her prayers were answered, and unto her a child was born.
The new heir was but a girl, but the most beautiful child the kingdom ever beheld. With lips as pink as a fresh rose, hair as dark as the midnight sky and skin as clear as the freshest cream, the most startling and entrancing feature about the girl were her eyes. They resembled the sapphire orbs in the king's treasury, which in turn made the girl far more of a prize.
"I shall call her Kagome," the king announced to his court. "And we shall have a great feast in honor of her birth!"
The kingdom rejoiced for everyone was invited to the grand ball. Everyone, that is, except for a wicked miko that lived on the border of the lands. The miko heard of the invitation, and of the long-awaited child, and sought revenge for the insult dealt to her. She arrived at the castle on the last day of the week-long feast and snatched the child from her mother's arms.
"I have been insulted by this court and for what? Never a wrong have I done you, and never a plague have I sent you." The miko glared darkly at the king, the queen, then at the innocent bundle in her arms.
"You, child, will pay for your parents' transgression. On the eve of her 17th birthday, she shall prick her finger on a spinning wheel, and fall to her death! So say I, Kikyou, then it shall be done!"
The miko vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the curse to weigh heavily on the heads of those remaining in the throne room. The queen wept over her child, desperately pleading to Kami-sama to remove the curse and place it on her instead.
"My queen," a young child called as she ran through the crowd to her side. "I can help, I think, if you'll let me."
"What can you do?" the queen asked. "You are but a mere child." The child said nothing more, merely gesturing for her to hand over the infant. The child hummed a moment, a soft tune that quickly lulled the baby to sleep before gazing back at the royal couple.
"I cannot reverse the spell. I can, however, change it so that she will not die. Instead of the kiss of death, she will sleep; as will the rest of the court; until such a time as one should come that can break the curse. On that day, he will release a power that will change her, and revive the castle around her."
"This is all you can do?" the king demanded. "For her to sleep for however long?"
The child nodded sadly. "I'm afraid that it is."
And so the child grew, from a babe, to a toddler, to a bright and happy teenager. The entire castle loved the girl, as he heart was as beautiful as her face. She smiled easily, always willing to help anyone who crossed her path. She made friends easily, and soon the curse was all but forgotten...
Until her 17th birthday.
"I'm bored," Kagome sighed, sitting at the base of a set of stairs. "I would go to the kitchen, but Mother and Father have forbidden it for today. And the other servants are assisting in the plans for my birthday party." She sighed again, her sadness echoing off the stone walls around her.
"What I wouldn't give for something new..."
A spinning sound, light at first but rapidly becoming louder, descended the steps toward her. Kagome stood, straining her ears to hear better as she slowly ascended the stone staircase. She climbed for what seemed like forever, each step taking her closer and closer to the mysterious spinning.
'I've never seen this part of the castle before,' Kagome realized as she peered over a window seal. "Oh my! I didn't realize how high up I am!" She sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the stairs behind her. 'But I've come so far, and I do want to see what the spinning is. I'll just keep going. I'm sure it's ahead here somewhere...'
Soon, she came to a lone wooden door at the very top of the stairs. Kagome opened it, peering in shyly. Her eyes widened curiously as the spinning sound poured from the room, finding that it was coming from a single spinning wheel. An old woman sat at the wheel, spinning wool into yarn.
"Good day auntie," Kagome called, bowing as she came in. "Did I disturb you?"
"Of course not child. It does my heart good to see someone new." The old woman patted a bench beside her. "Sit down, and tell this old woman about yourself."
Kagome did as she was asked; never one to refuse an elder; as she watched the woman spin. "What is it that you're doing?"
The woman smiled, a crooked one with missing teeth. "This, my dear, is a spinning wheel. I'm making yarn for the winter clothes. Would you like to try?"
"Oh no!" Kagome shook her head. "I couldn't! I might ruin your work!"
"Don't be silly!" The woman stood up, motioning for Kagome to give it a try. "It isn't as hard as it looks. All you have to do is spin."
"Alright," Kagome relented, watching the woman's motions before repeating them. "Why, you're right! This is not as hard as I th-oh!" Kagome jerked her hand away from the needle, popping the injured digit into her mouth.
"What is it dear?"
"I do believe I've pricked myself on your needle." Kagome yawned, then cast an apologetic look toward the woman. "I must apologize. I'm afraid I've ruined your cloth."
"Nonsense. You look weak. Why don't you rest a while?"
Kagome nodded, yawning yet again as the old woman led her to a small cot in the middle of the room. "Yes, I do believe your right. A small rest would be in order." Kagome settled under the blankets and fell asleep instantly. The old woman faded away, leaving the dark miko from so many years past behind.
'Yes, sleep my child. There is no one to help you now.' She hurried out of the castle, passing servants as they fell asleep in the mist of their duties. The miko ran through the gates just as the guards fell asleep, laughing as she escaped to her home.
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SF: Nope, this isn't a new story. This is an old one, posted on both A Single Spark and Mediaminer. I decided to post it (or the clean version of it) on Fanfiction as well because...well, I'll forget to update it if I don't. (blush) What can I tell you. It's old age that makes the mind foggy...