Rain was pouring from the sky and slamming into the earth. Heavy, black rainclouds blocked out the light of the moon as the storm raged on. Strong winds bent trees, whipping leaves off their branches and into the sky; each one as sharp as a small blade. Everything seemed to intensify as it hovered over a small village, nearly blowing it all away. A nearby river was threatening to overflow.
In this simple village, was a large castle that sat only a hundred yards from the left bank of this normally calm body of water. This castle housed the most noble family in the land. The residents of this magnificent structure were currently not worrying about the storm above them, but for their own safety. During the middle of the night, covered by the harsh weather, an evil entity attacked them. This demonic presence had its eye on one thing and one thing only, the newborn daughter of the nobles...
"You must get her away from here! She must live!" A man's voice shouted above the winds. He was the head of the noble house. The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties and his snow-white hair was tied up into a ponytail. White strands flew away, lashing in his face as he shouted to his wife.
"Where shall I take her, though?! There isn't an easy escape!" The lady of the house yelled back. Her jet-black locks were sticking to her cheeks, soaking wet from the rainstorm. She and her husband were currently trying to protect their child, all the castle guards having been killed only moments ago. They stood in the courtyard, wondering where their child would be the safest. As the two fretted over what to do, the baby began to wail.
"The river! Send her down the river!"
"What if I don't make it in time? What if it catches up to me?"
"I'll hold it off! Just run!"
There was a sudden banging on nearby doors, announcing the arrival of the evil entity. With one last look at her husband, the woman covered the babe in a blanket and ran out the castle gates. She ran with all her might, just so that her child could live. The wind whipped her hair around her head, sticking to her wet cheeks as she sprinted through the forest. The mother found herself on the banks of the river in just a matter of seconds. Not hesitating for a single moment, the young woman spotted a woven basket sitting upside-down three feet away. It must have been left behind from one of the maids.
The woman quickly flipped over the basket and carefully set the little princess inside. She then pulled a small piece of paper from her robes and stuck it in between the blankets and the wall of the basket. The mother then scooted the basket towards the rushing water of the river, looking around to make sure nobody was around to follow the child down the river. Once she knew the coast was clear, the young woman took one last look at the sleeping child before sliding it slowly into the water. Immediately upon entry, it was carried away by the current, never to be seen again.
After watching the endless train of water, hoping that this was all a dream, the woman then stood and walked back to her castle; she didn't care if the evil entity was there anymore, her job was done. Upon her return, her husband ran to her at the gates and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Is it gone?" She asked quietly.
"Yes... I was able to inflict a great wound to it. We shouldn't be hearing anything about it for quite some time." The nobleman replied, kissing his wife's head.
The noble couple stood in the middle of a war-torn courtyard that was littered with the lifeless, bloody bodies of the castle guards. "Are you sure we've done the correct thing? Will she be fine on her own?" questioned the woman, thinking about their child.
"Of course, it was for her safety. Somebody kind and caring will find her and raise her until she is ready to fulfill her destiny. There is no need to worry."
"I sure hope you're right..."
The river's current eventually calmed after nearly three miles of traveling. A small, woven basket could be seen following along the river, not stopping for anything. Occasionally, it would be bumped by a partially submerged rock or dropped down a tiny waterfall, but all was fine. The basket's little package was still fast asleep, unaware that it had been on it's own on the river. Eventually, though, the basket stopped, stuck in a cluster of cattails.
By the time this happened, half a day had passed by since its departure, and the baby had finally woken up. Lonely and afraid, the baby cried for the parents that wouldn't come. At first, the cries went unheard, until a small being climbed over a nearby levy. It was a young boy at the age of one year who'd just learned to walk a month ago.
This boy was not the average one year old, but had the brain of a five year old. He was able to be proud of his accomplishment and found it reasonable to leave his grandfather's side and waddle over to the calm river. He'd not imagined that he'd hear crying down in the cattails though.
Curious to see what could be making such an annoying noise, the brown-haired child scuttled over in the direction of where the sound originated. Being so short, he couldn't see over or through the tall, thick cattails and began getting frustrated. "Daniel? Daniel! Where could that boy have run off to this time? Daniel!" The voice of the boy's grandfather came from over the levy.
Daniel looked over his shoulder to see the familiar, elderly man standing at the top of the hill. Ignoring the mysterious cries in the cattails, Daniel turned to call to his grandfather. "Gran-pa! Gran-pa!" He shouted, "Sun-fin's oh-fer he-er!"
Daniel's grandfather carefully walked down the steep slope of the levy and over to where his grandchild was. "What's that, my boy? Did you find something?"
The brown hair flopped around as the child nodded his head, pointing a small finger over into the aquatic weeds. His grandfather looked into the cattails and spotted a rather large, brown object. "What could that be?" The old man asked himself.
He signaled for Daniel to stay put as he went and reached for the odd, brown shape. Immediately after touching it, the grandfather knew it was a basket, but something small was moving around inside. Careful not to fall into the muddy bog, he heaved the basket up and over his head, setting it on the soft, green grass beside Daniel. The grandfather and child leaned in close to see what was wriggling underneath the small, red, silk cloth. Cautiously, the elder pulled a corner away, revealing the small pink head of a baby. "A bay-bee?" Daniel asked.
Daniel's grandfather didn't reply, but smiled at the infant. The tiny child giggled, its big, brown eyes sparkling though these people were complete strangers. Daniel reached his own hand in to pat the baby's head, already getting attached. A puny hand fought through the red, silk blanket and strongly gripped onto Daniel's slightly bigger hand. The young boy laughed happily, but his grandfather had gone serious.
On the baby's hand, spiraling from the center of its palm to halfway down its forearm was an oddly shaped birthmark. The elderly man recognized the marking instantly, having researched about it for years. This child's birthmark was special, so special that it had a legend around it and hadn't been seen in quite a while. Instantly, he knew what he had to do. "Daniel, you stay here with the baby and make sure it's safe. I need to go talk to Kaede, okay?" Daniel's grandfather asked.
"'Tay!" Daniel closed his lime-green eyes as a bright smile was brought to his face. He then turned back to the baby and continued playing around with it.