Present

"Ooh! What a beautiful day!"

Throwing the curtains aside, a lovely young woman stared in rapt wonder at the world beyond her window. Sparkling slate blue eyes drank in the beauty of nature around her. The sun shone across the open meadow surrounding the secluded cottage she shared with her extended family. Finger-combing her silky mass of waist length black hair, she scanned the invisible border formed by the lush green forest. Small rabbits sprang from cover to cover, testifying to the vitality of their wooded home. Kagome Higurashi tilted her head back, inhaling the cool fresh air.

She would have been content to stay there all say, simply basking in the verdant beauty, but today was important. A bright smile lit her young face.

Today, she had someplace special to be.

PROLOGUE

"I am to do what, father?" Calm and smooth as a lake in winter, the voice barely rose above a whisper to ask the question. The young man speaking might have been making idle comments to a stranger about the weather by the apparent lack of emotion and interest he expressed. Half-lidded yellow eyes above high cheekbones graced a face that could have been considered beautiful if the voice had not signaled a more masculine owner. With porcelain smooth skin that was nearly as pale as his flowing silver hair, he studied the richly furnished room and the only other person who occupied it with out a single emotion breaking through his mask like visage.

Seated at the opposite end of the polished wood table, sat a large man. His features closely echoed those of the speakers, but were saved from an almost unmanly beauty by having a slightly more rugged air around the jaw and eyes. Like his son, he too had long silver-white hair, but it was confined into a high ponytail. Both men watched each other with golden eyes.

If anything, the father seemed a near opposite of his son. Handsome and expressive, the other man was eating his morning meal with decided relish. "You are to be married in one month Sesshomaru. I have already taken the liberty of choosing a bride for you." Deep and rich, his words fairly bristled in challenge, daring his eldest son to defy him. "You will meet her today, as will Inuyasha and Kagome."

At the casual mention of his younger half brother and new human mate, an emotion did creep subtly into that silky smooth voice. Disgust. "Why are the bastard and his human bitch coming?" he queried, as a plate was set before him by one of numerous and as far as he was concerned, nameless servants. "I do not see how their presence would be beneficial in the least." He nimbly placed a few steamed buns on his plate.

Lord Yamatsu sighed. He really did not understand Sesshomaru. The boy's mother Haniko had been a gentle and sweet-tempered woman, who had shared to a certain extent the respect and fondness he felt for humans. Therefore, the old lord could not figure out his eldest son's extreme antipathy for them. Even poor Ukiyo, his human second wife, had been greeted by her stoic stepson with barely concealed disdain.

As for the relationship between the two brothers... He gave a low snort. Well, someday one of them might grow up. The Demon Lord of the West looked across the long table laden with succulent dishes in silent contemplation. Picturing the bride he had chosen, he wondered if he should tell his son...no. Let the boy learn the hard way.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes and calmly drank his tea. From his indifferent response to the announcement of his impending nuptials, he might have been told what dinner would be that night. Many people, especially his idiot half brother, would have been stunned at the flurry of emotions racing through his private thoughts.

'He wants me to WHAT!? Oh gods!! I'm only three hundred and ten. Waaaaay too young to be hitched to some crazy youkai out to make a name for herself as the future Lady of the West! Hey, this bun is burnt! How in the hell do you burn a steamed bun!? Why do I have to get married anyway?' Pale brows dipped a fraction in a mild frown. 'I know that somehow this whole thing is Inuyasha's fault. Ever since that hanyou got together with that girl Kagome, the old man's been sniffing around for grandkids.'

His mood soured by both his musings and the bun, Sesshomaru ate the fish instead. Resisting the urge to sigh aloud, he contented himself with a slow, soothing breath. 'I wonder what dried up old maid the mighty Lord of the West had chosen for his first born?' he thought ruefully. Snow could have gotten frostbite from the chill overshadowing his words as he spoke to question his sire.

"Who or what am I to be wed to father?"

Yamatsu leaned forward and gave his son a smile that had caused many an army to surrender without a fight.

"Just wait and see, son."