Songbirds and Falcons

Prologue

(If you have the song Crossing Time aka Kagome's Theme Song, play it here.)

"Once upon a time, there was a glorious kingdom. The king of this kingdom was a young and just ruler. A kind man he was. When a dilemma was brought to his attention, the kind king would do all that was in his ability to help the villagers that lived around his fair land. Rather than solving trivial things such as war, the king would try to solve the opposing kingdoms' differences with his so that his followers wouldn't have to suffer the after-lashes like failing harvests because the other kingdom decided to use salt on their crops.

"One day however, the king's life was threatened by a spiteful ruler in which people called The Demon Spider. The Demon Spider's people feared and loathed the cruel king. The Demon Spider had made it a goal of his to take over the young king's lands for his own and expand his dreary domain and called a war upon the peaceful kingdom. Realizing that should he be killed, the kingdom would belong to The Demon Spider, for he had not an heir or any living relatives, he panicked. He would never leave his precious lands to that monster. Lady Luck was on his side however, for soon after the dire realization that befell upon him, he met a worthy woman to be his bride. He courted her and they fell deeply in love. They soon married and were on the verge of having a baby. The queen was with child and the kingdom rejoiced. When the evil king learned of this, he grew enraged and started to plan his coarse of action.

"When the child was born, it turned out that the king now had a baby girl. The Demon Spider felt the weight on his shoulders diminish slightly, for he had a five-year-old son. Should his new plans succeed, his family would gain the fair land without using large sums of money that would have been used for artillery and armor. The evil king asked to meet with the kind king for a possible treaty between the lands. The young king, not wanting a war unless necessary, agreed to meet with The Demon Spider. What The Demon Spider proposed was not as he expected. If the king agreed that when the children grew of age, they would be wedded, then they would have a permanent treaty between their kingdoms. However much the king didn't like the idea of deciding his newborn daughter's suitor, he had to. For if he didn't, than the two kingdoms would be engaged into war for no reason for he had been given the opportunity to prevent it. Coming to a decision, the kings signed the treaty.

"Five years passed and The Demon Spider requested that the rulers of the fair land to pay the other kingdom a visit so that the prince and princess could meet their betrothed. When the girl met the prince, she thought that he was of another world he was so ethereal, and even though the boy acted as though her was above her and that she was nothing but some mud that splashed upon his boot, he thought the same way. They had just stared at each until their parents scooted them closer to each other. Taking the hint, the children properly introduced themselves.

"The princess was the first to move. She gave a perfectly measured curtsy. ''Tis a great pleasure to meet you, your highness,' she said.

"The prince replied by taking her hand in his and bowed over it. 'The pleasure is all mine, Princess.' And he placed a feather-light kiss upon the back of her hand. After that moment, the princess was told that he was her husband-to-be. Although she was thoroughly confused as to why she hadn't been informed of this before, she accepted it because she had no place to argue with her parents. From then on, the two children were given time to bond with each other and get used to the others presence. By the time the year was over, the two were great friends.

"Soon after they had known each other for two-and-a-half years, famine and plagues broke out in all of the kingdoms. The princess and prince were not permitted to see each other until all trace of disease had diminished. By the time it was safe, the princess had recently had her fourteenth birthday. All those years had passed with nothing but the thought of seeing her prince again. Thoughts of him invaded her mind at every moment. She knew that the reasons for this was more than because he was her best friend. She was happy that it was to him whom she was to wed. If it weren't for the treaty between the lands, she wouldn't have ever met him. She thanked God every night that her prince was brought into her life. She was even more happy when news that the signs of the plague that wrought havoc on the lands had vanished. That would mean she could see him once again.

(Play Sango's Theme Here if you have it. If not, continue with Kagome's Theme.)

"Joy fluttered though her heart like a million butterflies were flapping their multi-colored wings inside. She went to her parents and asked when she could see him again. But she wasn't happy at all about the answer. The prince had caught the plague.

"'How long have you kept this from me?' she asked on the brink of tears.

"'We found out about it one week ago, dearest,' was her mothers reply. The princess fell down to the floor and cried into her palms.

"'Now, now dear. I know the two of you were friends. Everything will be alright.'

"'No, it won't. You don't understand. I don't think of him as a friend. I never have… I love him. All this time, the only thought that came across my mind… was of him. I have to see his face again. Those gorgeous eyes. I can't live without him in my life. Please, let me see him again. I don't care if I catch the plague along with him. If he dies, let me die with him by his side. Please…' she begged, her voice quiet and unsteady as she sobbed.

"Knowing that if he died without the princess him one last she would more than likely kill herself so that they would be together in the afterlife, they let her go.

"The princess left as soon as possible and was at the castle where her prince resided. The guards allowed her entrance and told her where she could find her betrothed. She found him in his quarters and felt her heart rip at the show of pain that came from him. She ran to his side and dropped down, laying her head on his chest, not caring about the consequences of her actions. The princes' head turned towards her and smiled. He winced at the energy used for that simple action.

"'There is something I must tell you before I ascend into the heavens,' was his hushed sentence.

"'Hush, my love. There is no need for you to strain yourself. You must recover,' said the princess, which startled the prince.

"He had never expected that she loved him. Oh, how he had missed her kind and beautiful face all these years. He had found that he had fallen for the angel while they were kept away from each other so that they wouldn't be exposed the disease that had been spread all over the kingdoms. He had rejoiced at the fact that the plagues rule was coming to an end. Now here he was, lying in his bed, for he had caught a tiny trace of the plague. He didn't even know if he would live. He would fight, if not only for the woman beside him, but for their future together. 'My tenshi, I will fight this for you. I love you.' With that, he fell into slumber so that he could get better, knowing that his beloved was beside him.

"The princess prayed for him at every waking moment. She prayed that he would live for her and their future. Days turned to weeks; weeks turned to months. All through this, she would stay by his side so that she could see his progress when he awoke. Symptoms began to vanish, signaling that he was fighting the inner battle and winning. Her strong prince. She continued to pray that he would continue to win.

"One day, the prince woke up and felt like he could lift an ox. He sat up and looked at his tan skin. He looked over to the side and saw the princess asleep; sitting on the floor with her arms cushioning her head on the bed. She awoke soon after he did and saw that he was in perfect condition. A smile grew on her petite face and she launched herself at him. The prince returned her embrace and whispered loving words into her ear.

"Soon after, they were wedded and living a happy life. The princess now lived in the princes' castle and was working on changing the dreary place to one of magnificence. Not long after, the castle was almost as breathtaking as her fathers. Her father and mother now had another heir to the throne, a baby boy; and she and the prince expected one also. The princess couldn't be happier. Her child was delivered safely and was very healthy and strong like his father.

"Wars started to spread across the kingdoms like a disease. The other kings wanting more land than what they already had. The prince had to go with his father to protect his wife and child by fighting in the war. No matter how much the princess protested, there was nothing she could do to stop the determined man from going. When he left, it was more agonizing for her than when he laid in his deathbed, being struck with the plague. At least then she could see him, see his soft chest rising and falling as he breathed. Now all she could do was wait for his return as she raised their child.

"Years passed and there was still no sign of him. She had not even heard from him. She waited and waited for her 'knight in shining armor' to gallop to her on his 'gallant steed' like the tales she had read when she was little. As time progressed, she became sick with worry and grief. When her husband finally came home, he had many wounds all over his body. He looked twice his age that was caused by strenuously fighting in the war for seven years.

"'Haha-ue, who is that man?' the princess' son asked.

"'My son, this is your chichi-ue,' she replied. The boy looked up at the unfamiliar man and spat next to his shoe, turned on his heel and began to leave only to be grabbed by his arm to face his parents. 'Young man, what was that for?'

"'Haha-ue, this man is the one that has had you stay up crying in the night. For that, I despise him.'

"Understanding dawned on the princess. 'My son, 'tis not his fault. Your chichi-ue went to battle in order to keep us safe. Please do not blame him,' she pleaded. She boy looked up again at his father. With a slight nod in recognition, he left. Father and son spent many hours a day trying to catch up on lost time. The young boy slowly forgave his father until he no longer felt anger towards the older man.

"The palace was attacked a couple of months after the prince came back from fighting in the war. Assassins from different kingdoms were sent to kill the royal family. The assassins found the king in his chambers and wasting no time in slaughtering him. They destroyed everything in sight and raped young servant girls. The prince and princess sent their son someplace safe and stayed behind in the castle. The prince stayed to defend the castle and the princess because she refused to leave her lovers side. When the assassins came upon the room where the couple stayed, the prince fought long and hard to kill off the threat to the rest of his family. The assassins managed to corner the prince and deliver the final blow which was specifically so that he could do nothing but watch as the took turn after turn ravishing the princess. She had fought and screamed but to no avail as they still got their way with the fair maiden. When they finished with her, she was already dying from all of the cuts and bruises they had given her in the process and soon left the two to die alone. The princess fought through the pain as she inched closer to her only love and locked herself in their final embrace, content in the fact that at least their son was safe from the fiends that destroyed their home. They died in each other's arms and entered the heavens together and watched over their son, watching as he turned into a stunning young man who resembled his father very much. He repaired the castle and took over the responsibility as king, all the while praying to the heavens above that his parents were resting in peace and that he would be able to join them when the time came."

Japanese Translations:

Tenshi> Angel

Haha-ue> Honorific word for Mother

Chichi-ue> Honorific word for Father

Coming Up in the Next Chapter

Kagome Higurashi here! In the next chapter, it is present time in Tokyo, Japan. It is the day before school and I am slightly nervous. Wouldn't you be? What's this? Momma wants to talk to me about something? I wonder what's on her mind.