Chapter 1: The Beginning
Fern Island
Rain pattered through the open windows of a broken down shack. It was painted messily with dirty white, and a worn out sign with a red cross roughly described the pathetic looking building as the hospital.
There were lilies surrounding the building, many of their petals strewn all over the muddy ground, as if they'd been trampled. The remaining bits of flowers were drooping down because of the downpour, and droplets magnetically dropped from the petals that were still attached to the stem, to the floor, making the tiniest of splashes.
It was around midnight when you could hear the footsteps of a rushed man bounding up to the entrance of the shack, panting heavily and carrying his wife bridal style. Blood dripped from the man's face and was soaked through the thin fabric of his clothes. The woman also seemed disgruntled, but also in so much more pain than her supposed husband. A protruding bump on her belly insinuated that she, unfortunately, was going through labor.
At the moment they arrived at the door of the puny excuse of a hospital, the man tripped on some weeds and fell to the floor, but not before he moved his body in a way that his wife would fall on top of him, rather than having to suffer his weight. Finding no energy to spare, he found himself tired and pained to the bone, fainting on the spot and splashing his body with sloppy mud.
The man's wife was screeching, tears pouring out of her face.
She was going through labor, and she was certain the baby was going to be out any second.
"Help! Help! Help me!" She slammed her fists into the door until she felt like her wrists would snap off. The door opened a few seconds later following the hurried steps of the doctor, an disheveled old man with white hair and circle-framed glasses. His white coat was stained with the various fluids of previous patients and mishaps.
"Are you in labor?" He asked.
"Yes! Please help me! Help my baby! Help my husband, too- I'm begging you!" She pleaded through wet eyes, the humid rain dropping onto her face like hail.
"Of course. Lucy!" He called for a blond nurse, a young woman who helped the pregnant woman limp through into a room where they would be given the most privacy you could get in the shack.
The doctor crouched down at the outside of the entrance, putting two fingers on the husband's hand.
There was no sound, where the pulse should have been.
He sighed in disappointment and sadness, but the moment could only last for seconds after hearing the wife's agonizing cry.
You know how sometimes, you can be at the wrong place at the wrong time?
This was much worse.
The man's wife was in the most terrible situation, in a hospital in the most horrible condition, and the timing was extremely unlucky, as well. Unfortunately, a group of well known, infamous Celestial Dragons were roaming around that specific part of the area, looking for something.
They weren't happy.
"Breathe, Miss. Breathe." Lucy encouraged the older lady, who in response, tried her best to stay conscious and deal with the unbearable pain.
"The… The father?" Lucy had asked.
"Dead," He answered grimly. Lucy lowered her head, but she knew that it was no time to mourn.
"Alright, keep her steady." The doctor ordered the young nurse and prepared the patient for the birth of her baby.
"Miss, you can do it," The woman strained to hear, see, or feel anything. She just kept her hands clenched tightly on the iron bars of the rickety bed.
"Aaaahhh!" After that blood-curdling scream, their fates would be under the mercy of the Celestial Dragons.
"Breathe," Lucy was now begging. She didn't want to have the baby or the wife become injured, or worse.
"Alright, the baby's head is almost out,"
The woman was pale, breathing in unsteady intervals. The doctor was raging to get the baby out. He knew that this lady was in no condition to be giving birth at the moment. He only prayed that the baby would be alright.
"Before I die…"
"You won't die, Miss." The nurse reassured her, but who was she kidding? The birth was dangerous for the child- only god knew what road the mother and child would be taking.
"Before I die," The woman whispered aggressively, as if she already knew that she would pass away for some strange reason (the conviction in her voice was scary to hear for both the doctor and nurse), "I'd like to name my child…" Her voice lacked its usual power, as it was raspy and muffled by tears she was holding back. The woman was in so much pain, and yet, she had room in her dignified and strong-willed heart to stand by her beliefs and wishes.
"Miss, did you have any other children?" Lucy asked, trying to calm the patient down, lowering her heart rate.
"...I… I had a… a...son… years ago- Ahhhh!" She yelped as the baby was coming out. Her insides were being flipped all around and her headache wasn't helping her out much, either.
"Hold her for three more seconds, and it'll all be over." The doctor instructed the blond as she nodded. "Three more seconds, Miss."
"Mi…"
Funny, those three seconds seemed to last for an eternity for the doctor, the nurse, and the woman giving birth. The background composed of the scraped up walls and feeble attempts to make the hospital shack look more homey and comfortable, all seemed to dissipate and was replaced with white space for just the woman in her final moments on earth.
"Mi… Saki..."
The first cries of the newborn were heard, and everything was still.
"It's out." The doctor said quietly.
The rain stopped.
It wasn't even a gradual halt.
It happened too suddenly for it to be natural.
The clouds were cleared, and you could see a bright moon in all its glory, illuminating the ocean waves pounding softly against the rocks and the cliff. The stars sparkled, shining down the light onto the weeping grass and plants. The natural, white color of the lilies flourished outside of the hospital, and the tints of the pathetic place were not professional, but gave a picture of natural comfort, in a way, with the hidden bits of real wood peeking out from the peeling paint and the imperfect construction of the building.
The rain seemed to have permanently left the island. Sure, there were clouds in the sky, but they were puffy, white clouds that one could imagine in a fairytale, or a dream.
The nature through the lens of the hospital windows- which were fastened shut by nuts and bolts in an effort to keep out bugs and unwanted wind- was fantastical, showing a completely different aspect as to one that was seen only minutes ago, when there were dark skies and a pretty heavy rainstorm. Along with the sky, the ocean, from the window's view, was sparkling, like soda. The marks and stains of weathering on said windows only made the scenery more beautiful and realistic, in a way, and brought together a wonderful landscape.
However, the doctor and the nurse were obviously too occupied to notice any changes in the environment surrounding them.
"Finally… That lasted longer than it should have…" Lucy wiped her forehead with her clammy palms. "Miss? Do you want to see your baby?"
The doctor was silent as he held the baby close.
"Miss?" Lucy looked at the silent woman.
Almost like an eerie portrait, the woman's body was contorted and her eyes were glassy, like a doll's. It was at this moment where the doctor could see a beauty in the corpse of a woman, slowly fading away for some reason.
"She… She's dead?" The blond turned to look at the doctor, then back at the woman.
The doctor nodded solemnly. He upturned his glasses and swiftly started cleaning up the blood on the table with a nearby rag. "Time of birth of child and death of mother, three-fifty-two. It was unavoidable."
"B-But... But why?" Lucy backed away from the corpse, trying to force her eyes to gaze at something other than the soulless eyes of that woman.
"She was unhealthy to begin with, and the time of giving birth was spanning for too long. I didn't even expect the baby to live. Lucy, you should have been preparing for the worst,"
"This… This is terrible! What… What about the baby!?"
They heard a bubbly cry, coming from the tiny human. The cry was a vivid voice that rang through the two people's ears like a soothing charm or a melody. Taking a better look at it, the baby was obviously a female child, with such cute pink skin after being cleaned up, and amazing brown eyes. Her bald head was already sprouting hairs of a blueish color, which wasn't a surprise. The father was blue haired, as the doctor had caught a glimpse of the dead man outside and his outer features.
"What a beautiful newborn," Lucy marveled at nature's creation, but immediately recognized the current situation and walked over to where the doctor was, frowning and cradling the baby in an effort to calm her down. "What will happen to her?"
The doctor rubbed his temple in deep thought.
"I don't know." He said finally. "I have my family, as well. We've never taken in any orphans, or any children at all, for that matter. But we can't just throw her to the streets. She's still a baby."
"I suppose I could keep her with me and Mother for a while. It would be no trouble, if it were only for a few weeks, maybe. Then, we can send her off somewhere else."
"Tragic, a young girl without parents. An orphan right after her death." The doctor said. "For now, we must keep her safe. The couple was running from something, and the husband died not only due to exhaustion, probably. Being on this island means that they're in danger,"
"Because of the… the neighboring island…" The blond haired girl murmured. "Sento-"
But before she could finish her sentence, there was an abrupt knock at the door. "Come out, little piglets! Come out!" The voice was harsh and it was dripping of falseness.
The young lady felt her face twist in fear. "Who is that?"
"He doesn't sound injured…" The man muttered, rushing over to the back entrance. Lucy followed, the baby in her arms.
"Go. Take the baby." The doctor commanded, and the young woman didn't argue. But she did ask one thing, "But what about you…?"
"I'll be fine. Go, now!"
Lucy nodded and sped into the thick trees and the dense forest. 'The village is only a few minutes away. The village is only a few minutes away,' She repeated on and on in her head, trying to keep herself calm, and trying her best to make as little noise as possible.
She heard a snapping noise of branches and twigs right behind her.
The blond quickened her pace a lot more, feeling the baby howl underneath her shawl.
"Shh, shhh." Lucy was panicking, desperate to calm the baby down.
"Waaahhhh! Waahhhhh~!" The baby was yowling. She didn't know what to do. The people were coming closer.
Closer.
Until-
"Don't move." A man wearing a sharp, black tuxedo and dark glasses pointed a gun to Lucy's head. She flinched, keeping a firm grip on the baby.
"What's this?" Another person strolled through the thick forest, wearing a clean, white suit and a clear globe around his head. He looked almost like an astronaut.
'A Celestial Dragon!? What is he doing here?' The blond gulped, averting her eyes from the two men.
This particular Celestial Dragon wasn't like others. Instead of being fat, ugly, and extremely dependent, he seemed as if he was a decent citizen. Good-looking and seemingly intelligent, even. However, it was Lucy's mistake when she lowered her guard the slightest bit.
"Shoot her. She has what I want." The Celestial Dragon commanded at the man in the suit. He obliged, preparing the gun.
"What? No! I have nothing!" Lucy shouted, and the Celestial Dragon snickered.
"What's that under your shawl, then?"
She jumped, but didn't dare pull the poor baby out. She couldn't hear any more cries. It seemed as if the baby knew what was going on.
"Nothing."
"Liar." The Celestial Dragon dragged on. "As I looked at your face, I could tell you were a liar." He clicked his tongue. "This is what you become if you are poor, and it's disgusting. You probably wished you were as intelligent and high like me. Now, give me what you have."
"...What did you do to Doctor Samuel?"
The Celestial Dragon's thin line of a mouth formed into a small smile that sent chills down Lucy's spine.
'So this is what makes him inhuman.'
"Shoot her now!"
The nurse dropped on her knees, trying to protect the baby under her clothes as best as possible. "Please spare us."
"Us? So you admit the baby is tucked away in your shawl." The man in the suit clarified, and turned to the Celestial Dragon. "Shall we take them under custody?"
"Kill the woman and take the baby."
Lucy's eyes widened as the gun was triggered. She heard white noise, and then everything went black.
"Ah, well. That's that." The Celestial Dragon walked over to Lucy's body and dragged out the baby, who was covered in the woman's blood. Surprisingly, the infant wasn't touched by the bullet, even though the fatal wound was surprisingly close to where the baby was hidden, so one could only assume that the killer was a professional sharpshooter.
"So, she is the destined one?"
"Yes. We have one with us already, and all we need are the other three."
"Shut up, I already know that."
"Apologies, my Lord." He bowed profusely and left the corpse to rot in the middle of the woods.
And they walked out of the forest while the baby was still silent. She woke up in the middle of the forest, looked around, and howled.
The rain started falling again.
"Crap, she's going to bring in a storm." The Celestial Dragon took out a Den Den Mushi and it rang loudly. "Ah, Maachan? Can you bring in one of your horses?"
The rain suddenly stopped, and a group of blood red horses dragging a black, sleek carriage appeared from the clouds. They whinnied, urging the three people to get on.
"Hold her." He tossed the baby carelessly to the man in the black suit.
Then, they sped away into the light, as the sky was clearing up.
But the baby wouldn't stop crying.