Sawada Haruhime wasn't a normal child.
You see, when Haruhime's parents had just gotten married, her mother found out she couldn't have children. She was infertile. Devastated, her mother turned to the old fairytale books she use to read, trying to find her favorite one. When she did, she reread the story she had loved so much.
Have you ever wondered, how nature gets its glow?
Who gives it life and colour, as the seasons come and go?
Who helps all creatures, great and small, to walk, to sing, to fly?
Who crafts such tiny detail?
You might see them if you try.
For it's all the work of fairies, but they stay well out of sight.
And the Fairy Queen, as big as you and I, is the one that brings the world life.
She read about the Queen of the Fairies, Lady Cassandre Lifebringer. She read about how she slept all through winter and autumn, only awake during spring and summer, lest her ability to bring life tip the balance. About how sometimes, just sometimes, she would give the ability of life to somebody else. Let those who could not bear children of their own, bear a child of spring. Her child.
Nana had always loved this story, loved the Fairy Queen for her kindness and compassion.
And here, in her hour of grief, she prayed. She prayed to the being she had believed in all her life, begging her to let her bear the child she had always dreamed of having.
The next day, Nana had bumped into a woman in the park.
She had beautiful golden hair, a heart shaped face, bright green, kind eyes and a kind smile on her pink lips.
Nana had of course apologised, wrapped up in the grief of being denied a child to notice where she was going.
The woman had laughed it off, waving her hand dismissively and said it was just as much her fault for not paying attention.
Nevertheless, Nana insisted that she buy her something as an apology.
The woman had smiled, saying she was only accepting the offer to make Nana feel better.
As they sat at a café drinking some tea, they chatted for a bit.
Nana told her of her husband and her inability to have children.
The woman told her of her many travels around the world, of the many wonderful things she had seen and the many heartbreaking ones.
As the woman stood up to leave, she turned around to look at Nana, her bright green eyes suddenly much older than they should be, a kind smile on her face.
"Take care of my child, Sawada Nana."
Then she left, disappearing in the crowd outside the café before Nana had a chance to process the words.
When she did, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in a gasp.
Her prayer had been answered.
Nana never told her husband about her encounter with the Queen nor about how the child she could feel kicking at her stomach would not be hers.
Not that she cared. The child in her may not be hers by blood, but she would be damned if she didn't treat it as such!
When her child had been born, a beautiful baby girl with fluffy brown hair and round eyes, she named her Haruhime, Spring Princess, in honor of her real mother, the spirit of spring. Iemitsu had wanted to name her 'Tsunayoshi' but she shot that down right away. No way was she giving her daughter a boy's name!
After Haru was born, Iemitsu left, saying he had to return to work, but promising to visit when he could, forcing her to raise Haru alone.
Haru was a lively child that loved being outside, not surprising, given who her mother was.
On the first day of spring, somebody knocked on the door.
Nana looked at her daughter, who was cheerfully playing with some blocks.
"Wait here, Haru-chan."
Her daughter, intelligence as she was, nodded her head.
Nana walked to the front door, opening it with a smile on her face.
"Hello, how may I help..."
Nana stopped talking as she took in the person before her, her eyes wide.
The person smile, bright green eyes warm and kind.
"Hello, Sawada-san. May I meet my daughter?"
Cassandre looked at the woman she had intrusted her child to with amusement.
Clearly she had not been expecting her to visit.
The mortal visibly regained her bearings, shaking her head and looking at her with a shy smile.
"Yes, sorry. Of course you can, Cassandre-sama. She's your daughter, after all."
The fairy smiled at her, stepping into the house as the mortal stepped aside to let her in.
She made a beeline for the high pitched laughter coming from the living room, excited to see her child.
As she entered the room, the girl in it look up at her, brown eyes looking at her in curiosity.
Her heart melted at the sight of her daughter, her smile becoming warm.
She walked over to her child, placing herself on the floor.
"Hello there, Haruhime. My name is Cassandre Lifebringer. I am your mother."
The girl blinked, before looking at the mortal.
She smiled sheepishly.
"Well, one of your mothers, that is."
She heard the woman behind her take a sharp breath, no doubt not expecting her to say that.
She turned her head to look at her.
"You carried her for nine months. You are just as much her mother as I am, Sawada-san. Maybe even more so."
It would be impossible for her to stay with her daughter for more than one day, no matter how much she wanted to. She just had to much to do. She would never be able to watch her child grow up.
The woman smile, tears of happiness in the corners of her eyes.
Her child smiled as well, holding her arms over her head and said 'Up!'.
She complied, pulling her up by her armpits as her daughter shrieked in laughter.
God had she missed this.