Disclaimer : Many OCs here but no actual SD characters yet.. but the
storyline doesn't belong to me either.. it belongs to Jude Deveraux..
(pronounced as deh-ver-roo). sigh.. I can't write.. gomen for all the
mistakes, ya? Happy reading..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remembrance - SD version
Kanagawa, 1571
Chapter 1
"There, madam, is a son," Sakuragi Taki said to his pregnant wife of almost nine months. In their nineteen years of marriage, he had said those words to her over and over again when she was pregnant. A simple-minded man of little imagination, his main goal in life is to have a son as tall and handsome as he was.
His beautiful long-and-black-haired and wife, Miko, hand on her enormous belly, sat beside him, her eyes glittering with bright blue fire. She knew better than to make any comments, as it was better to let him go into a rage.
"I have always wanted a son and look what you have given me!" he said angrily, "Daughters! Eight blasted, expensive, good-for-nothing daughters! What else? Two sons. Yes, you have given me two sons. But they are also good-for-nothing and are only two extra mouths to feed!"
It was indeed true that he had two sons but he despised them. Why? They weren't healthy. One had a deformed foot and the other had a lung disease that made him cough continually as though his days were on end.
"Look at him," Taki demanded of his wife, pointing openly at a man across the room. "Why is it that his wives can beget sons and you cannot? His wives are said to give him sons so large they die from birthing them."
Coldly, Miko looked at the man her husband was pointing to. It was Rukawa Kozue, a man who was the size of a bear, unwashed, bad-tempered and uneducated. However, in his youth, he was a great jouster and unseated any man who took him on. Some said that too many lances hitting his helmet scrambled his brain and made him stupid.
Kozue had had three wives, each giving him a son in the exact image of his father, then dying from the birth. He loved to brag that his virility killed them but the women agreed that they died to get away from his filthy body and mind. Both he and Taki had one obvious similarity: they both thought of women as only bodies, put on earth to give them children.
His sons were just as ugly and cruel as he was. Why, even now, one of them was beating he pet dog with a stick and his younger was bullying two of her daughters! The third great lout of a son was somewhere else Miko didn't know and didn't want to know.
Right now, Kozue's newest wife was giving birth somewhere in the castle and Miko, unable to stand the sight of Kozue burying his face in the bosom of one of her maids, stood up to go help her, as the poor woman had been in labour for two days already.
As she stood up, the first pain came to her belly and she knew her time had come. Grabbing the chair, she tried to keep her face from contorting as another pain took her, but she failed. Taki totally ignored her and wouldn't have cared if she gave birth then and there, but the guests sure noticed.
"Hey, Taki! Looks like you're gonna be a father again!!"
"What day does he not become a father?" someone else yelled and everyone laughed.
Then, without looking at her, he said, "Leave me."
"Good of you to grant me your permission to leave," Miko said through gritted teeth.
At the next pain, her maid, Kina, came and helped her go to the chamber where the other woman was birthing Kozue's child. She lay down beside the poor girl. She could clearly see that the poor girl was dying. Even the priest had already given her the last rites. She would not live more than a few hours, he had declared.
The girl was a pretty thing, with tanned skin, honey brown eyes and fiery red hair. Miko held her hand and, feeling the cold skin against hers, twinned her arm around the girl's nearly lifeless ones. All the while, she prayed for a son.
The girl now seemed to be drawing her last breath. Flickering her eyelids open, the girl looked at Miko. Then she spoke, in a low voice so that only Miko could hear her speak.
"My child shall be your child; Your child shall be mine. They will be in one spirit in two bodies. They will live together; they will die together. They will not be able to survive separately."
Her command of the language was bad but in the experience that they were sharing, Miko could understand what she was trying to say. The words the girl had just spoken would be emblazoned on her heart for eternity.
Then the girl screamed, "Take my child!"
Upon hearing those words, the midwife paled, but responded. "I will need a large knife. Make sure its sharp," she commanded.
Everything seemed to happen at once. Just as Miko's child shot down the birth canal, the midwife ripped open the girl's womb to free the suffocating child inside her. Blood was everywhere. It was astounding that such a tiny girl could have so much blood. There seemed to be something wrong with Miko too, so for a while no one could tell whose blood belonged to whom.
In all the commotion, the babies were nearly forgotten. Still attached to their mothers, the babies were dumped on top of each other. One was a boy, an enormous boy, with red hair and skin the color of honey, his eyes a golden brown. He other child was a girl, as white as a dewdrop. The crown of hair on her head was midnight black and her skin was like cream.
Both babies, stunned after the birth, seemed to wrap themselves around each other, clinging to each other as though to seek comfort for what they had just been through. Since no one was holding them aloft and smacking various parts of their bodies, they did not cry.
Now, in the midst of all this chaos and confusion caused by the midwife, came the wet nurse. Honda Kimu was a large woman, perhaps fat, but many said that it was Kimu's huge heart that made her so big. She was nearing thirty years of age and was an old woman, by the standards of the farmers who were her neighbors.
Nine months ago, Kimu had become pregnant and everyone in the village had rejoiced for her. Her 'old' husband, Tama, was teased about it but everyone could tell that he was pleased just as Kimu was. But just four days ago, Kimu had given birth to a set of twins who lived long enough only to be blessed by the priest.
Now, upon seeing the children, she went to work immediately and cut the cord of the boy after tying it off. Her big, strong arms went to pick up the slippery boy but the moment she touched them, their grip on each other tightened. When Kimu gave a gentle tug, they clung tighter. They did not cry. They clung.
Kimu looked at the children in wonder. In her experiences, newborn babies either cried or slept after birth. Some were born hungry and some were not. But she had never seen children who were as wide awake as these two, staring into each other's eyes, their bodies entangled with each other's. If their skin were not different colors, you wouldn't be able to see where one began and ended.
Knowing that they wanted to be together, Kimu scooped them up into her ample arms. The children did not trust her. They seemed to think that she would try to separate them again, so they held each other fiercely.
"Its okay. I won't separate you. I'll protect you. I won't let anyone harm you," Kimu cooed to them. And as though they understood her, they relaxed their grip and softened in Kimu's arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: darn, this didn't turn out well, did it? Anyway.. review please! Oops.. sorry, minna! I got a little mixed up in the story, so I had to change it! *bows down apologetically and then runs away from rotten eggs and cabbages*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remembrance - SD version
Kanagawa, 1571
Chapter 1
"There, madam, is a son," Sakuragi Taki said to his pregnant wife of almost nine months. In their nineteen years of marriage, he had said those words to her over and over again when she was pregnant. A simple-minded man of little imagination, his main goal in life is to have a son as tall and handsome as he was.
His beautiful long-and-black-haired and wife, Miko, hand on her enormous belly, sat beside him, her eyes glittering with bright blue fire. She knew better than to make any comments, as it was better to let him go into a rage.
"I have always wanted a son and look what you have given me!" he said angrily, "Daughters! Eight blasted, expensive, good-for-nothing daughters! What else? Two sons. Yes, you have given me two sons. But they are also good-for-nothing and are only two extra mouths to feed!"
It was indeed true that he had two sons but he despised them. Why? They weren't healthy. One had a deformed foot and the other had a lung disease that made him cough continually as though his days were on end.
"Look at him," Taki demanded of his wife, pointing openly at a man across the room. "Why is it that his wives can beget sons and you cannot? His wives are said to give him sons so large they die from birthing them."
Coldly, Miko looked at the man her husband was pointing to. It was Rukawa Kozue, a man who was the size of a bear, unwashed, bad-tempered and uneducated. However, in his youth, he was a great jouster and unseated any man who took him on. Some said that too many lances hitting his helmet scrambled his brain and made him stupid.
Kozue had had three wives, each giving him a son in the exact image of his father, then dying from the birth. He loved to brag that his virility killed them but the women agreed that they died to get away from his filthy body and mind. Both he and Taki had one obvious similarity: they both thought of women as only bodies, put on earth to give them children.
His sons were just as ugly and cruel as he was. Why, even now, one of them was beating he pet dog with a stick and his younger was bullying two of her daughters! The third great lout of a son was somewhere else Miko didn't know and didn't want to know.
Right now, Kozue's newest wife was giving birth somewhere in the castle and Miko, unable to stand the sight of Kozue burying his face in the bosom of one of her maids, stood up to go help her, as the poor woman had been in labour for two days already.
As she stood up, the first pain came to her belly and she knew her time had come. Grabbing the chair, she tried to keep her face from contorting as another pain took her, but she failed. Taki totally ignored her and wouldn't have cared if she gave birth then and there, but the guests sure noticed.
"Hey, Taki! Looks like you're gonna be a father again!!"
"What day does he not become a father?" someone else yelled and everyone laughed.
Then, without looking at her, he said, "Leave me."
"Good of you to grant me your permission to leave," Miko said through gritted teeth.
At the next pain, her maid, Kina, came and helped her go to the chamber where the other woman was birthing Kozue's child. She lay down beside the poor girl. She could clearly see that the poor girl was dying. Even the priest had already given her the last rites. She would not live more than a few hours, he had declared.
The girl was a pretty thing, with tanned skin, honey brown eyes and fiery red hair. Miko held her hand and, feeling the cold skin against hers, twinned her arm around the girl's nearly lifeless ones. All the while, she prayed for a son.
The girl now seemed to be drawing her last breath. Flickering her eyelids open, the girl looked at Miko. Then she spoke, in a low voice so that only Miko could hear her speak.
"My child shall be your child; Your child shall be mine. They will be in one spirit in two bodies. They will live together; they will die together. They will not be able to survive separately."
Her command of the language was bad but in the experience that they were sharing, Miko could understand what she was trying to say. The words the girl had just spoken would be emblazoned on her heart for eternity.
Then the girl screamed, "Take my child!"
Upon hearing those words, the midwife paled, but responded. "I will need a large knife. Make sure its sharp," she commanded.
Everything seemed to happen at once. Just as Miko's child shot down the birth canal, the midwife ripped open the girl's womb to free the suffocating child inside her. Blood was everywhere. It was astounding that such a tiny girl could have so much blood. There seemed to be something wrong with Miko too, so for a while no one could tell whose blood belonged to whom.
In all the commotion, the babies were nearly forgotten. Still attached to their mothers, the babies were dumped on top of each other. One was a boy, an enormous boy, with red hair and skin the color of honey, his eyes a golden brown. He other child was a girl, as white as a dewdrop. The crown of hair on her head was midnight black and her skin was like cream.
Both babies, stunned after the birth, seemed to wrap themselves around each other, clinging to each other as though to seek comfort for what they had just been through. Since no one was holding them aloft and smacking various parts of their bodies, they did not cry.
Now, in the midst of all this chaos and confusion caused by the midwife, came the wet nurse. Honda Kimu was a large woman, perhaps fat, but many said that it was Kimu's huge heart that made her so big. She was nearing thirty years of age and was an old woman, by the standards of the farmers who were her neighbors.
Nine months ago, Kimu had become pregnant and everyone in the village had rejoiced for her. Her 'old' husband, Tama, was teased about it but everyone could tell that he was pleased just as Kimu was. But just four days ago, Kimu had given birth to a set of twins who lived long enough only to be blessed by the priest.
Now, upon seeing the children, she went to work immediately and cut the cord of the boy after tying it off. Her big, strong arms went to pick up the slippery boy but the moment she touched them, their grip on each other tightened. When Kimu gave a gentle tug, they clung tighter. They did not cry. They clung.
Kimu looked at the children in wonder. In her experiences, newborn babies either cried or slept after birth. Some were born hungry and some were not. But she had never seen children who were as wide awake as these two, staring into each other's eyes, their bodies entangled with each other's. If their skin were not different colors, you wouldn't be able to see where one began and ended.
Knowing that they wanted to be together, Kimu scooped them up into her ample arms. The children did not trust her. They seemed to think that she would try to separate them again, so they held each other fiercely.
"Its okay. I won't separate you. I'll protect you. I won't let anyone harm you," Kimu cooed to them. And as though they understood her, they relaxed their grip and softened in Kimu's arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: darn, this didn't turn out well, did it? Anyway.. review please! Oops.. sorry, minna! I got a little mixed up in the story, so I had to change it! *bows down apologetically and then runs away from rotten eggs and cabbages*