Chapter 1: A New Princess
The cries of the newborn echo through the halls of Mew Mansion, eliciting shouts of joy all over the planet. In every country, newscasters had been waiting as if it were the new year to be the first to announce the birth of the seventh generation future Mew Ichigo. Any channel one turned to that crisp autumn night sung the praises of the beautiful new 6 pound, 8 ounce life.
In northern master bedroom of Mew Mansion, the sixth generation Ichigo, Alyssa, and her Red Knight, Stephen, coo to their child, their faces brighter than the sun. It was their first child, and she had captivated their hearts from the moment they laid eyes on her.
The room was full of doctors and nurses and all the other sixth generation Mews were present, all excited to meet the future Ichigo who would be leading their own children.
Soon, one of the nurses brings over a cart with a baby bath, and Stephen carefully places the child inside, overflowing with pride as he cleans her up. After her bath, they place a diaper on her and wrap her in pre-warmed blankets.
"What will you name her?" Daphne, the sixth generation Mew Purin asks.
Without hesitation, Stephen responds, "Emiko."
"It means 'blessed and beautiful child'." Alyssa finishes.
That night, baby Emiko slept soundly in her new crib in her new pink room, just down the hall from her mom and dad.
But not all was calm. Outside, two guards lay dead, and inside, the shadows of eight figures were cast over the child.
Almost as quickly as he appeared, one of the figures reels and falls to the ground, then another. It takes the last six a second to figure out what was going on. There had been a rumor that the Mews each had an elite guard that would stay hidden and ensure their success. By the time they remembered this, a third and fourth had been slain.
Another quickly wraps the newborn in blankets and places her in a cloth bag. He reels back, passing the bag to another as he felt something sharp pierce his body.
The final three leap through the window just as The Red Knight and Mew Ichigo enter the room. Wings like dragons protrude through their clothes as they take flight over Mew Mansion.
Mew Ichigo screams, her voice ringing through the mansion, "EMIKO!"
The Red Knight orders everyone to pursue the kidnappers. Anyone with wings takes flight. Teleporters, Centaurs, ninjas, all types take to the ground, determined to bring back the newborn.
Behind him, Mew Ichigo, still weak from giving birth collapses. The Red Knight clutches her closely, kissing her forehead. She grasps his arm, weeping.
The three remaining kidnappers fly away from the mansion, but soon find themselves surrounded by legions of beings loyal to the Mews and Knights. A Griffin lands on one of the beings without the child, sending it soaring down to the ground, and Mew Minto herself shoots another with an arrow, effectively damaging its wing and sending it out of control. Only the one carrying Emiko remains.
Within seconds, he was surrounded. He pulls out a knife and holds it next to the bag, effectively stopping the pursuit. Cries from the little one ring out.
"Let her go!" an angelic form Retasu calls out, in position to strike.
He brings the bag in front of him, placing the little one between himself and Retasu's strike. He gently sways the bag back and forth. "Get back! All of ya! Lower your arms!"
They obey.
He grins as he flies toward the edge of the circle. Those there stand their ground.
"MOVE!" an angelic form Purple Knight orders reluctantly. They obey.
"And if I see even one of yas approachin' me, I'll cut her up nice and good!"
The kidnapper moves farther and farther until he is out of sight.
A mile away, he lands in a forest, clutching the crying child. Finally, he opens up the bag. Staring back at him was the newborn with whisps of dark brown hair and beautiful golden-tan skin. Her big brown eyes looked just like her mothers.
"Shhhh!" he admonishes. Just a little while later, and you'll be at your new home... With the Mew Ichigo and her powers on our side, we'll finally win this war. Six generations we've waited for this!
Up above he sees a white dragon fly above, no doubt searching for the missing heir.
He moves under a branch. I told them not to pursue me!
Behind him, he hears twigs snap. He takes a few steps forward, but stops when he realizes he hears them from that direction too. He sighs, then places the infant in the hollow of a tree, covering her with cloth to stifle her cries. He takes his knife in hand and heads out to prepare a sneak attack.
He never comes back.
Baby Emiko cries out.
Not far away, a man in his mid twenties hides behind a tree as he watches a figure with black wings like a attack a woman wearing armor. Her partner, a shapeshifter, changes from a human to a bear and kills it with one swipe. They kneel down to examine it as the man escapes.
I didn't see anything! I don't know anything! I-
He stops. A baby cry.
He follows the sound and finds it coming from a pile of linens. He removes them and stares for a second. Figuring it must be the child of the one who was killed, he reaches to pick her up, but jerks back.
Cold! Oh you poor child!
He reaches back and pulls the baby close to himself. He races into his home, and shuts the door behind him.
"Honey?" a woman's voice calls. "What's wrong?"
He turns around to face his wife who was helping their one-year old son onto his feet. The boy falls to the ground on his bum and laughs.
A baby's cry rings out from inside his coat. She gives him a look as he reveals the girl. Emiko and their son look at each other, both silent.
Several loud bangs ring out from the door. "OPEN UP!" a deep, feminine voice calls.
"It's the ones who killed her dad!" he whispers as he hands his wife the newborn. Seeing how quiet they both were, she scoops up her son in her free hand and places them on top of coats in the closet.
"Shh!" she says urgently.
Her husband opens the door.
"Have you seen a baby? A newborn?" the shapeshifter asks.
He shakes his head no.
The shapeshifter bombards his way slightly in, turning into a dog. "I smell baby products." he announces. Hearing this, the armored woman enters.
"We have a young son." the wife volunteers. "We still use baby products on him."
Again, they listen, but hear nothing. They look around and find the house perfectly in order. The two turn around and head out with a muffled "Thank you for your time."
After they leave, they quickly set to getting the newborn settled.
Within moments, they have their son's old crib set up again just a few feet away from his "big kid bed".
The woman cradles the little girl as her husband sits with their son on their lap.
"Did you happen to hear her name?" she asks.
"Unfortunately no," he responds. "Perhaps we should give her one."
"How about Erika?" she pipes up. "I've always loved the name Erika."
"I like it. Welcome to the family, Erika." he touches her tiny hand.
17 Years Later
"Hurry up!" Erika calls as she races out the door wearing the classic black skirt, white blouse, and blue blazer, bookbag in hand. Her long hair swishes back and forth in her ponytail. She opens the door of their red beater, gets in, and rolls down the window. "EVAN!"
"Coming!" Evan pants as he tries to pull down the legs of his pants so they don't look like they're flooding. He reaches the car and throws his stuff in the back seat.
"Lets move it! We've gotta pick up the girls!" Erika admonishes.
He gets in just as their mom opens the front door to waive.
"Bye, Mom!" they both call out as they exit the driveway. About 10 years ago, their father had died, so she became the main provider of the household.
Thirty minutes later, Erika was gasping for air as she entered her Government and Politics classroom, just as the bell rang.
"SAFE!" Brian calls out, laughing as he holds his hand up for a high five. Several other students follow suit. Erika walks in, high fiving the students, Evan behind her.
For a second, he just watches her. Somehow, everyone knew her. She wasn't dating anyone, but she was probably the most sought after girl at the school. In fact, on more than one occasion, people from the prestigious Mew Academy had asked her out. But, she always declined saying she was concentrating on other things. Which, she was, but she did have time for a relationship if she wanted one.
He feels a poke on his arm. "Helloooo. Isn't it too early for your goofy smile?" Bart smiles knowingly at him as Evan takes his seat in front of him. "Why don't you just ask her out?"
He turns around. "Wouldn't that be weird? I mean, she's my sister!"
"Three words. Not. By. Blood." he leans back in his chair. "Besides, haven't you put enough distance between you since you realized you liked her? She hasn't seen your room since it was covered in Thomas the Tank Engine!"
"Don't say that so loud!" he whispers, embarrassed.
Bart continues. "You've paid your dues, Man. You're more like housemates than siblings. That's all I'm sayin'."
Evan looks over at her, as usual, surrounded by people. He tightens the tape on his glasses. Why would she ever be into me?
"Sorry I'm late," their history teacher walks in carrying his roster and their text. "We all know that 17 years ago, the heir to the Mew Ichigo line was kidnapped, and she has not been located since..."
Erika leans on her hand. Not this again... It has been this long, and this is still the most important political issue? Goodness... Who cares? The only neat thing she can do all the others can't is wield the Centaurian form... She yawns.
"Erika, do you find something about this lesson boring?" the teacher asks, eyebrow raised.
She sits up, "Yeah. Actually, I do. I'm tired of talking about this long lost princess. I mean, I know she's their daughter and all, but is this really a political issue? Since her disappearance, they've had another daughter. Can't she just be the heir?"
The teacher approaches her, and stands above her. "No, she cannot! The Centaurian form is the only form that has been protecting life as we know it! If the other side gets their hands on the missing child, when the sixth generation Mew Ichigo perishes, we will have nothing that can defeat their leader."
"Why don't they just create another Mew Ichigo?"
"If it were that easy, we would have done it! This is basic, Erika! The exact DNA code held by the first generation Mew Ichigo is one of a kind! We will NEVER see it again! The only means to access her powers has been bound to only her firstborn daughter. To lose this child is the greatest tragedy our world has ever faced!"
Erika stares at her desk.
"Any other questions, Erika?" the teacher asks angrily.
"No, Sir." she responds.