The Child of Pity

Ch 𝟏 ☙𝑶𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆

It had been yet a couple of days since Sakura decided to accept her new profound reality. She slowly adjusted herself towards acting more baby-like and resting while trying to gather information on where she was.

She still had her doubts on whether this was a dream or the afterlife but each time she felt the dreadful smell coming from herself and after her diaper change she was brought back to reality and disgust.

Sakura tried to remember her last moments and if anything had happened before that could explain why she was reborn but nothing special came to mind. Since her becoming a baby she came to a conclusion, whoever her parents were they were certainly wealthy for they had a vast home filled with many trinkets especially some made of gold along with all the things surrounding her room and her mothers room was certainly one of her favorite places to visit for every-time she went in there she'd smell the beautiful aroma of the candles and the warm ness of her mothers large bed.

Though all these things were certainly appealing to her and made her intrigued, while she had her baby like body she couldn't do much and would just lay around while wandering off in her mind. She had many thoughts on her mind but along them was where her supposed birth father was. It had been probably a week at most since her birth yet he had not shown up to see her once so she couldn't help but be curious.

She didn't have a good relationship with her parents back in her old life, with them always arguing with her or each other or embarrassing her in-front of others, or excluding her from anything, and the fact that she couldn't remember the last time they showed her an ounce of love. She couldn't help but embrace this new mother of hers with all her might, for this was probably the first time experiencing a real mother's love.

She wondered if her father would be cruel to her then? If he hadn't come to see her anytime soon then maybe he didn't want her. She didn't seem to mind though for she thought if she had just this warm and loving mother maybe this new life wouldn't be too bad.

Sakura felt herself dozing off as her eyes closed, she slept soundly in her mother's arms as her mother sang her a soft lullaby, a small cream was heard as the door opened revealing a young man, his features were striking and handsome with a strong jawline, high cheek bones, and deep intense eyes, while he seemed a strong presence his face beamed with warmth as his gaze fell on the young woman with the baby in her arms.

"Nicholas, you're back." the woman spoke in a soft voice trying not to awake the baby in her arms.

Nicholas gave his wife a small smile before approaching her and their baby who was fast asleep in her arms. "I'm sorry, I left right after you gave birth Amina." he looked at her with a worrisome look.

"It's all right dear, I understand how the temple must be closing up on you lately." Amina kept smiling down at her newborn baby with the brightest look in her eyes and a beautiful smile. "Luckily this one is very well behaved just like her father." she glanced over at her husband now noticing his face filled with worry. "What's wrong dear?"

"Father, he..received an oracle these past few days." his eyebrows slightly frowned at his own words before he spoke up.

"What was the oracle about?" Amina now looked over at her husband confused as to why he seemed so angered towards this oracle.

Nicholas pulled out a scroll from his side and sat down in-front of his wife and newborn daughter before coughing slightly and picking it up to read it to her.

"𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝑫𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒏𝒗𝒂𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒏 𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓, 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒎, 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑶𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂.'' Nicholas finished reading it with his deep voice as he glanced over at his wife's expression slightly darkening.

"I don't know what to say." Amelia could now understand why her husband seemed so distraught, for she also understood what those words meant. Her first and precious daughter would serve the emperor and die for him and the empire as the gods spoke.

"What has he said about this?" Amelia slowly choked up the words dreading in her throat, though she didn't say a name she knew her husband understood what she meant.

"He called me to the temple to inform me, yet he didn't inform his majesty, atleast not yet." Nicholas clenched the scroll in his hand.

"He isn't sure of what to do." his words fell on the silent room as he watched his daughter sleeping soundly, the poor child had barely made it alive from the birth yet he had to find out his precious daughter would have to die for peace? he couldn't help but feel angry at the gods for cursing his child with such cruel fate.

He wouldn't allow this. No, he'd find a way around it surely there must be a way around this oracle. Nicholas knew he wouldn't stand leaving his daughter to face such fate alone, in that moment he decided he'd find a way to ensure her happiness and for her to live a long life even if it costed him his own, and even if it meant defying the church itself.

Amelia too knew she had to protect her poor child from such a cruel fate, so on that dreadful night the couple made a silent promise to each other. They'd protect their child no matter what was to come.

That morning Sakura awoke as usual yet this time she was met with a new face she hadn't recognized, it was a young man standing over her cribe as he glanced down at her with a sadden look on his face. He slowly picked her up and carried her in his arms.

He seemed to have said a few words yet while Sakura was fully conscious she still couldn't understand this new language so she just stood quiet listening to his soft words. He's hug her slightly before turning over now facing her mother and that's when Sakura realized the man holding her was probably her father. He seemed the polar opposite to what she had expected to which made her feel somewhat relieved.

That morning was the first time the Harusa family truly spent time together and Sakura felt the warm feeling of being coddled by two loving parents without knowing what was in store for them.

       𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏 - 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 : 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝
𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐩 - 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫