::Byakko No Miko:: Prologue ::

"Why don't you shut the hell up! She's mine and I'm taking her with me!"

"You must be dreaming! Who was the one who borne her for 8 months, then painfully gave birth to her? She is mine, Mister, why can't you get it into your puny little head?"

"Oh yeah? But do you actually have the means to bring her up? I doubt so!"

"Whatever made you think I can't? I can and I will!"

(((Slap)))

"You slapped me?!"

"Just so you know that us males are forever superior to women, and I AM THE ONE WHO WILL GET CUSTODY OF OUR DAUGHTER!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! So try and stop me…"

"Daddy… Mummy… Please stop fighting… Ria is saying please… Please…" A little girl stands in the open doorway, clutching a tattered doggie plushie by its paw, tears silently streaming down her cheeks.

"Please… PLEASE!"

A figure bolted upright in bed, her chest heaving with each deep breath she took. Her platinum blond hair fell forwards as she coughed slightly, sticking to her wet face. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead as she looked around in the darkened bedroom, searching for her prized possession.

"Brownie…" Caerria murmured softly as she picked up the soft doggie plushie that rested at the foot of her bed, and hugged it tenderly. She smoothed the plush's ears behind its head, and looked into its beady little eyes.

"I… I dreamt of them again…" She said, pulling the covers up so that it covered both her and the plush completely.

"They were fighting again… As usual," A bitter laugh escaped her lips, and she closed her eyes.

"I never knew how they could stay together even after I was born, especially since they had been fighting way before that," Her brows furrowed, and she opened her eyes again to look into the innocent eyes of the puppy.

"Love, you say?" Caerria asked the toy.

"But it hurt. For Mom. For Dad. For me. Why would loving someone constitute such pain?" She murmured quietly, turning to look out of the window next to her bed.

It was snowing.

Caerria laid her cheek on the windowpane, the sharp pain of the cold glass bringing fresh tears to her eyes.

Snow.

Blood.

Her reflection showed clearly against the glass, and she could see her eyes, grey against the milky white of her skin, and platinum blond hair framing her heart-shaped face.