Under the Shaded Willow

Prologue

A/N: So, this is the first chapter to the new installement of the series. I really hope you like it, it took me a little while to write. I was really unsure of how to start once I decided to continue with the third person perspective instead of going with first. I'm really excited to write this story. I hope you'll continue to read. As always, please comment and vote! I always look forward to hearing your thoughts, they inspire me. (:

~Tata for now

WARNING: This story has light depictions of violence, abuse and neglect.

Prologue

        It was late spring when they first met. The sun had set long before they arrived. The Albarn house was dark, silent with sleep. The only one who still stirred in bed was the mother. It seemed to be a restless night for her. She had been worrying about her husband, who was away on a job the entire day. She never felt quite right when he was away. Everything seemed to darken without his presence.

        She tossed and she turned about her bed; the nightstand light casting shadows on the walls of the lofty room. Her breath came out in even gasps, light and somewhat calm. It was only when the knocking erupted that she fully woke, quickly sitting up in her bed. The knocks were very rapid, and harsh on the wooden door. They were consistent knocks, coming one after another. Mrs. Albarn stumbled out of bed, pulling her bathrobe from a nearby desk chair.

        She pulled the piece of clothing over her night-gowned figure. Her steps echoed into the hallway as she exited her room, eliciting a small cry from her youngest child. His voice was heavily shadowed by lingering sleep. It was easy to tell that he was frightened. Mrs. Albarn sighed as she made her way to the opening of his bedroom, peeking her head inside.

        “Spirit, it’s okay, stay in bed.” She softly commanded.

        “What was that noise?” His tiny voice questioned.

        “Somebody is at the door, that’s all." She assured him.

        “Is it papa?” he asked.

        “It could be...if he forgot his key.” She humored her son, knowing full-well that her husband would never be so careless.

        “I need to go answer it, okay? Stay put.” She continued after a short moment.

        “Yes, mama." He murmured, snuggling the side of his head into his pillow.

        Mrs. Albarn then headed towards the stairs, hurrying down them and to the door. She looked through it, spying a hooded figure before opening it cautiously. She didn’t immediately recognize the woman that stood before her, for the woman’s face was shadowed by the hood, though the woman’s voice assured her that there was no danger.

         “Shiori." Her voice cried out.

        “Mikako…” Shiori said slowly, confused by the woman’s presence.

        Recognition set in and she stepped aside.

        “Come in out of the cold, Mikako,” she insisted.

        Her friend quickly entered, pulling the small child that Shiori hadn’t noticed along with her. She lowered her hood once inside, exposing her neatly tied back hair and her make-up smudged face. When Shiori caught sight of the boy she was baffled. It wasn’t like her friend to take her son places, it wasn’t always safe for her son to travel. Shiori herself had never even seen the boy, she’d only heard of him. And even then, he wasn’t spoken of fondly. It was almost as if her friends were frightened of their own son, which Shiori could never understand. The boy’s head was covered by a thick black hat, his face, all but his eyes, was covered by a brown-colored scarf.

        He was a small thing. Much smaller than her own son, who was only two years older than Mikako’s boy.  

        “You brought your son,” Shiori stated.

        “It’s no longer safe for him in Germany,” Mikako replied with a grave expression.

        “Why, what’s happened?” Shiori queried.

        “They’ve found out about… Hakase’s eccentricities,” her friend hesitantly replied, carefully choosing her words.

        “Meaning what? All children are strange.”

        “Not like Hakase. He...they think he’s dangerous,” Mikako explained.

        “He’s a seven year old child, he’s just a baby,” Shiori pointed out in disbelief.

        Mikako said nothing after that, just stood there looking down at her boy. It was only a few moments later that the tears started flowing.

        “I don’t know what to do,” she sobbed, her hand still holding the childs.

        “You can stay here,” Shiori assured her.

        Shiori had plenty more questions to ask her friend, but it was late and she didn’t want to discuss the matter in front of the boy. Her friend simply nodded, not even attempting to look away from the boy.

        “We have a guest room that you can use,” Shiori informed her, kneeling in front of the boy and taking him by the shoulders.

        “Would you mind sharing a bed with your mama?” she asked him.

        The boy just stared at her with dull eyes that didn’t match either of his parents.

        “That’ll be fine. He’s just...tired,” his mother said, speaking for him.

        “You must be too. Come with me, I’ll show you to the room.”

        The three of them headed for the stairs. They headed up to the hallway where Shiori pointed out the bathroom and took them to the room.

        “It’s kind of dusty, we don’t use this room too often,” she said apologetically.

        “That’s quite alright. We came so unexpectedly.”

        “I can give you something to sleep in, Mikako. And, I’m certain Spirit must have something that Hakase can wear too,” she offered, leaving to get the clothing.

        Spirit’s room was furthest from the guest room, so she entered her own first. She thoughtfully removed a black nighty from her closet for her friend, though she didn’t particularly seem like the nightgown type of gal. Shiori then exited her room, making her way to her sons. She entered as quietly as she could, gingerly avoiding the spot in the floor that creaked when stepped on. She approached his dresser with tiptoed movements, pulling out the smallest clothing items she could find. They still looked far too large for Mikako’s boy, but they would have to do.

        When she re-entered the guest bedroom, she was shocked to see the boy’s appearance. His hair was a peculiar color, though she didn’t comment on it. She simply handed the clothing to her friend, uttering a simple goodnight and returning to her own room.