Black-feathered wings crossed the sky. The owner's breath was rough and haggard from the exertion of fleeing from her assailants, while still clutching her precious cargo.
It had been over 500 years since the Kouma Wars, when she had watched her people, the once great and powerful Ancient Dragons, slaughtered.
She and her mate were the only ones left. They had hidden for five centuries, avoiding mazuku and Gold Dragon. They had been able to have only one blessing in those centuries of terror. They had a son, whose young 62-year-old body was cradled in her arms. The same son she was trying to save from those who had discovered them.
She had watched with renewed horror, as her mate fell, his long black hair splattered with his own blood. His amber eyes become empty and vacant.
She had fled with her son, her heart beating ragged and torn in unison with her only thought. "My son, my son, I have to save my son!"
She sped across the sky. Her wings were tired and aching, but she couldn't stop. She glanced behind. She could see them, their wings glinting in the sun, much too beautiful to be death's angels.
She turned ahead, and turned to the wasteland that spread over the miles in the distance. Many were not allowed to come here. The wasteland that had been the battleground of Ceifeed and Shabrinigdo had been taboo for centuries. Maybe, they wouldn't follow her there.
She sped across the land, but her pursuers continued, and she fought back the tears, that threatened to obscure her view.
"My son is going to die!" she felt her heart cry. "Please, no!" as she pulled his small form to her. She stared ahead, her eyes finding a light in the distance, and moved towards it. So desperate she didn't care what it led, she just needed to save her son.
The clouds billowed and screamed as the wind tossed her heavy form around. She could only hear the wind crying, and in her heart she heard the cries of her lost people, begging her to not give up. She screamed as she burst through the clouds to the center and nearly stopped in awe at the massive construction that sat in the midst of the eye of the storm. The magnificent black columns reached to the sky, and seem to absorb the light instead of refracting it.
She didn't know what else to do. She sped towards it. Searching around, trying to find anything that would help her escape. She swung below the large pillar, discovering it was made of five separate pieces that came together to form the pillar. She could imagine them spreading apart, opening like a large flower. As she came to the bottom, she discovered that the pillar pieces had opened a little, forming a small opening.
She flapped her wings hard, trying to hover in one spot as she looked into the opening. She could sense the power emanate from it. She didn't recognize the energy that came from it, but realized that it was foreign and probably of a different world.
She pulled back. It was a gate, a portal to a foreign world and possibly an escape! However, it was much too small for her massive form.
She stared down at her son, curled against her, his tail wrapped around her wrist. She smiled briefly. He would probably grow up to look like his father, with his black hair, instead of her aqua-blue hair. She ran claws through his hair for one last time, and in a gently whisper, "Honey, I need you to transform. You have to fit through the hole."
She watched her son look up at her, his beautiful amber eyes questioning.
"I know, you just learned how, but mommy wants you to get through the hole. Your human form will fit better."
"But, mama, I don't want to go."
She smiled, hiding the tears, and lied, "Don't worry, mommy will follow right after you."
He blinked for a moment, then closed his eyes and concentrated. She smiled, pleased as his massive body shrunk and he became a human of five years. She cupped his small body in the palm of her hand and lifted him to the opening. He looked up, and she smiled reassuringly, and with that, he moved into the opening.
As he climbed through the opening, he looked back, waiting for his mother to come after, but she didn't. He stuck his head out for a moment and saw his mother hovering at the entrance, just as several Gold Dragons burst through the storm wall.
"Mama!"
"Honey, go! Keep going, and don't look back, no matter what!"
"But, Mama!"
"Now!"
Terrified, the child pulled his head back in and crawled to the black gateway. He stared at it for a moment, terrified of the inky blackness. He swallowed, "She said she'd follow." Then he moved forward into the dark.
The last thing he heard was his mother's scream, but then it was too late, as he was pulled deep into the darkness and then lost consciousness.
"Mama!" He curls in his sleep trying to feel her usual warmth, but nothing was there. He opened his eyes to find he was lying on the ground. He stared up at the foreign skies, and suddenly it dawned on him that he was all-alone in this world. His mother had lied. She didn't follow him. He closed his eyes, biting back the tears, her screams echoing through his mind. Even to his young mind, it didn’t take long for him to realize what happened.
"She died, and I couldn't help her. I was nothing but a burden."
Saito Akira leisurely walked through the woods. He had been had cutting wood and was now carrying it back. Luckily, this was turning out not to be a very cold winter. Maybe this year would also bless them with the child they had wanted, but the gods had seemed unwilling to grant.
Saito smiled, pleased, until he heard a soft cry. He turned trying to figure out where it was coming from. He placed his bundle of wood down to carefully walk into the woods.
Saito then stared in wonder at the young boy that sat in the middle of the woods. The boy cried quietly curled in a ball for warmth. As Saito approached, the boy stopped crying, and suddenly Saito took a step back as the child glared at him through amber eyes. But, he found the sudden fear dissolve as he watched those eyes fill with tears.
Saito approached the young child. "Oi, where's your family? Where's your home?"
The boy just stared at him, tears streaming down his soft cheeks.
Saito sighed, closing his eyes, "I take it that means you don't know, or just don't know how to speak." Sighing, "Very well, I can't leave you here, so till we find out who your parents are, I'll take you home."
Saito Akira rolled his eyes at his wife. She had quickly removed the child from his grasp and had bundled him into something warm, and then was carefully feeding him.
"Sakura, you don't need to name him. He probably has a name. It's just a matter of finding his parents."
"Honey, we know everyone in this small town. If someone had lost a boy, we would have heard about it. So that means, that he's probably from afar off. It might take a long time for someone to find him, and while that happens, we can't keep calling him "boy", now can we."
Saito, knowing from long experience that arguing with his wife was a lesson on how to get a headache, just snorted, "Well, what are you going to name him?"
"Well," smiling at her husband, who only glared at her, "We found him at the beginning of the year, so I guess we'll call him Hajime." Her smiled brightened, "and if we can't find his family, it'll be Saito Hajime, and we'll have that son we always wanted," and with that scooped up the now sleeping boy and carried him to a futon she had previously laid out.
Saito just humphed, as he watched his wife happily cover the sleeping child, knowing that it was a lost cause to argue. The completely happy look on her face was enough to stifle any arguments. He calmly rubbed his forehead and reminded himself to be more careful what he asked the gods in the future, they might just grant those wishes too.
Part 2 | Fanfiction