Midnight's Reign

Chapter 8

Disbelief.

Confusion.

Astonishment.

She feels so many emotions in mere seconds. Both women stare at each other in shock, wide-eyed and speechless. Kyojuro looks at both of them, confusion also written on his face.

Asami is the first to speak. "Where...how... I thought you were dead." She whispers.

Her mother looks at her housekeeper. "Leave us."

Bowing, the keeper disappears, leaving the three alone. Her mother looks at Asami, a mixture of guilt and sadness in her eyes.

"You've grown into a beautiful young woman."

Asami's pulse quickens. She swallows the lump in her throat. "You left." She says quietly. Her mother lowers her eyes, ashamed. She quickly looks back at her daughter, her eyes pleading.

"I did. But I'm sure you can understand why. Your father...I couldn't live like that anymore." Her mother looks at Kyojuro, "Can you give us some privacy—"

"No. He's staying." Asami says cooley.

Asami's jaw is clenched, her hands ball into fists. The small relief she felt when seeing her mother quickly turns into quiet anger.

"All these years I thought you were dead, and that's why you never came back to get me. But I see I was very wrong."

Her mother takes a step closer, "Please understand. He was a cruel man, I had to—"

"You left me!" She raises her voice.

"Keep your voice down."

Anger boils under her skin, her fists clenched tighter. She feels heat prick behind her eyes but refuses to shed a tear. She will not cry.

"You think I don't know what kind of a man he is? I was nine when you abandoned me. Nine. You left me behind with him. He was angry when you left. So angry. And after you left, guess who he let out his anger on?" She could feel her voice threatening to crack.

Her mother lowers her gaze again, knowing the answer to her rhetorical question. Her mother opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, a small voice came from around the corner.

"Mommy, what's going on? Who is this lady?" A little girl, no more than seven, peeks over from behind the doorway.

Her mother walks over to the girl, kneeling down. "Everything's alright, sweetheart. These people were just dropping off medicine for your brother. Go back to your room." Reluctantly the girl obeys, disappearing from view.

"They don't know, do they?" Asami says, her tone growing bitter.

Her mother sighs, standing up to face her. "No. I wanted to start over."

Heartbreak is a funny thing.

When a heart breaks, there is no sound, no bleeding, no visible scars. No indication of the pain and betrayal she feels tearing her heart open as she stands there silently.

"So you decided to throw your own daughter away like trash, so you could live a fancy life." Her stormy red eyes stare at the woman before her.

Her mother's back straightens, apparently taking offense at the comment. "But look at you now. I see the sword strapped to your hip and the uniform you adorn. No doubt you're a strong, capable warrior. Perhaps it wasn't such a terrible thing to have left you. If I had stayed, you might not have chosen to walk down such a noble path. The universe works in mysterious ways; you should be grateful."