bewitched by vegebul_soup
After the sudden appearance of her estranged father, Sarada finds herself thrust into the unfamiliar realm of high society. Will a handsome devil help her navigate the underworld or will all hell break loose?
BoruSara. Supernatural, Regency AU.
Perched in the bay window of her top-floor bedroom, Sarada Uchiha sat with her opened journal on her lap. She stared out at the dense forest behind her house, searching for the words to explain what was going on with her.
The days were already growing shorter as summer simmered into fall, but Sarada had decided to take a gap year before starting college. She wanted to "find herself" as she told her mother, who had been endlessly supportive of the idea. The problem was she didn't know where to start.
Maybe that was a lie. Most of the questions that plagued her about her identity were rooted in her father, or rather, lack thereof.
It was a subject her mother dodged with practice until Sarada inevitably stopped asking. But her curious young mind couldn't help but want to fill in the gaps. Maybe he was married to another woman. Maybe he had another daughter that he loved more. Maybe he was dead.
She had a few vague memories of a dark-haired stranger showing up at their house. Then again that might have been a dream, a subconscious explanation for her coloring being so vastly different from that of her bright-eyed mother.
An image of raven hair and eyes as dark as the midnight sky reflected off the window back at her. Surely her father had the same features, right?
Sarada exhaled a sigh for the dozenth time as her gaze fell to her near-empty journal page.
'It happened again.'
It being… Well, she didn't really have a name for it. But about six months ago, shortly after her eighteenth birthday, the strangest things began happening to her. Things Sarada couldn't explain.
She definitely wasn't crazy, though she hesitated to tell her mom about what was happening and have her think just that. The last thing her hardworking, single mother needed was to have to commit her own daughter to the psych ward of the hospital she worked at. This small town was already full of gossip.
This most recent incident was like many of the others before it. Sarada wanted something to happen, and then it just happened.
Without her getting up, items she wanted would come to her. Without saying anything, people she didn't want to talk to would simply cut themselves off and walk away. Even now, this gloomy weather rolling in seemed to reflect her current mood, making Sarada question if she was somehow the cause.
Raindrops rhythmically tapped against her window until she finally stole her gaze from the darkened forest behind her house. She closed her journal and tucked it under her pillow, deciding she would try to find the words before bed.
Sarada trotted down the stairs to see if her mother had started preparing dinner when she heard a firm knock at the front door. Her brow furrowed in confusion, wondering who would possibly visit them during a rainstorm.
"I got it," she called as she hopped off the last step and padded over to the entryway.
She opened the door to find a tall stranger in a long black trench coat standing on their front porch. His dark, slightly damp hair hung over his forehead, obstructing a portion of his face.
An uneasy feeling twisted in her gut at the way he just stared down at her with charcoal eyes. "Um, hello. Can I help you?"
"Sa-Sasuke?" her mother's voice called from behind her. Sarada turned around just in time to watch her collapse onto the hallway floor.
"Mom!" she shrieked and scrambled over to her limp form. Sarada knelt down beside her and fanned her face with her hand. What the hell was she fainting for?! Who even was this guy?!
Her mother clearly knew him…
A man with her same dark features…
Sarada's heart was pounding in her ears as the realization dawned on her. He couldn't be. Why would he show up after all this time?!
Dark eyes flickered back to the stranger at the door, only to discover he had let himself into their house and closed the door behind him. Sarada's entire body tensed as he slowly approached.
She felt so scared and defenseless, she just wanted him to stop.
Just stop. Stop!
His footsteps slowed to a halt and his dark brows rose as if surprised. "Please calm down. I'm not a threat, there's no need to attack me."
Attack him?! She didn't do a goddamn thing to him!
Before Sarada could say as much, he knelt down on the other side of her unconscious mother and scooped her up in his arms. She instinctively clutched her pink apron, unwilling to let him just take her.
"I'm going to set her on the couch if that's okay with you."
Sarada tentatively released her grip and nodded. She followed him closely as he seemed to navigate through their house like he'd been there before and set Sakura down on the living room couch.
She didn't want to let him out of her sight and yet he didn't seem like a threat to her mother. With a huff, Sarada scurried into the kitchen and returned with a cold towel, placing it gingerly over her mother's forehead.
She knelt beside Sakura, even as her anxious gaze kept flickering over to the silent stranger standing in her home. What did he want? Who was he?!
Her lips parted ready to force herself to say something when her mother began to stir. Green eyes fluttered open as she tried to offer a concerned Sarada a soft smile.
"I don't want to overwhelm you but we have a guest," she murmured, before pointing to the dark-haired stranger with her eyes.
"Oh my… so I wasn't dreaming."
"No," he replied simply.
Carefully, Sakura removed the towel from her forehead and pushed herself up to sit. She turned to the stranger and addressed him directly. "What are you doing here?"
"We can discuss the details, but I've come for Sarada. The timing actually works out quite nicely, because —"
"Excuse me?!" Sarada interjected, growing more frustrated that she was still so in the dark. Her hands clutched the nearest couch pillow. "Who even are you?!"
"Honey, it's okay," Sakura whispered and placed her hand over her tense forearm. She turned back to the stranger. "I don't understand, why now?"
"Now that her powers have manifested, she can be recognized as my heir."
Sarada inhaled a shuddering breath as the room started spinning. She felt dizzy and nauseous. He basically just confirmed that he was her father.
Sakura shook her head. "But Sarada doesn't have powers..."
Sarada's body instinctively tensed as his gaze shifted over to her. "You haven't told her?"
She could feel her mother's grip on her arm suddenly tighten. Her mouth opened and closed, struggling to find any words. "I-I don't know what you're talking about…"
"I think that you do."
"Sarada?" her mother whispered.
Her head jerked toward her mother, finding her green eyes full of concern. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat and softly confessed, "I didn't want you to think I was crazy."
"Oh, honey," Sakura sighed as she encouraged her to come sit on the couch so she could wrap her arms around her in a hug. "You can come to me with anything."
Hot tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she buried her face against her mother's shoulder. "That's not true," Sarada mumbled. Sakura pulled back, her face pinched and slightly offended.
"I've asked you a hundred times about my father and you never gave me a straight answer. I had to find out from him showing up here." Sarada gestured at the stranger standing in their living room, his face still stoney despite the emotionally charged conversation. "It's him, isn't it?!"
Her mother's hurt immediately turned to guilt. "I'm so sorry, but I didn't know how to explain the whole story. I didn't want you to think I was crazy," Sakura admitted before she pulled her into another hug. "I thought I was protecting you."
Even if it caused her years of hurt, she understood what her mother was saying. Sarada then turned to the stranger — well, her father. "Why do you want me to come with you?"
"I think it best that you learn how to control your powers under my supervision and in an environment where you won't draw suspicion."
Powers.
She hadn't phrased it like that in her mind. She thought she was some freak, but he was basically suggesting with the right training she could be powerful?! Sarada took a deep breath and weighed her options.
As much as it scared the hell out of her to go with a man she barely just met, her mother seemed to trust him and she had been yearning for as long as she could remember to know more about her father.
"Okay," she replied with a tentative nod. "For how long should I pack?"
"I have everything you could need at my manor. Feel free to pack whatever other items you deem essential," Sasuke told her. "I mentioned this would be the perfect time for you to come as the young ladies and gentlemen of every prominent clan will be introduced at a sort of coming-of-age event at the end of the month. It will be the ideal opportunity for you to meet important people."
Sarada blinked at him, slightly confused where exactly he was from that such a traditional event would be held. "Um, okay..."
Her mother released her as she stood up and headed upstairs to her room. So many emotions were stirring in her chest, but excitement was key among them. Finally, after all these years she was going to get to know more about her father!
Assuming she could get more clothes wherever her father lived, Sarada stuffed a few other personal items in a backpack, her journal, extra contacts, her glasses, and of course, her lucky charm. Dark eyes scanned her bedroom for any other essentials. Finding none, she slipped her backpack on her shoulder and closed her door behind her.
When she padded down the stairs, she discovered her mother was not sitting on the couch anymore. Her brows rose to find she was instead in a rather intimate embrace with her father. One of his hands rested on her lower back while the other gingerly caressed her cheek.
Sarada had never seen her mother show the least bit of interest in a man, but now it made sense. Her heart still belonged to her father. Even after all this time. Even after he left her to raise a child all alone. It was hard for her to fathom a love as lasting as that.
She froze when Sasuke turned to her, "shall we go?"
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."
Her mother gave her a smile, and Sarada realized there were tears in her eyes as she smoothed the lapels of his black coat. "You're okay, sweetheart."
She felt a tinge of guilt as they stepped apart, allowing Sarada to give her mother a goodbye hug. "I think this will be good for you," her mother mumbled into her hair.
"I'll miss you."
Sakura squeezed her tighter. "I'll miss you more."
The rain had stopped by the time they stepped out of the front door, but Sarada grew confused when she realized her father hadn't come there by car. She was feeling a bit too nervous to make conversation, so instead, she followed him silently into the forest behind her house.
With damp soil and twigs underfoot, Sarada internally questioned her choice in shoes when Sasuke spoke up. "The veil between here and the underworld is particularly thin in this stretch of the forest," he explained.
Did he just say underworld?
No wonder her mother freaked out when she realized Sarada had been playing out there when she was younger.
Sasuke closed his eyes in concentration and inhaled a deep breath. When his eyes opened, Sarada jolted as a swirling portal opened before them. "After you."
She hesitated a moment, asking herself if this insane evening was all just a dream. A new story her mind conjured up to explain her missing father. But when her fists clenched at her sides, Sarada could feel the pain of her nails digging into her palms. She was awake.
If she could just find the courage to step through this portal she may very well get all the answers about herself and her father that she had been yearning to find for so long.
Her heart beat faster with each step forward she took until she passed through the swirling threshold. An indescribable surge of feeling consumed her whole body for a fraction of a second.
Then the next thing she knew she was standing outside an ornate iron gate. It's tall, black rods pointed at the top. Before her was a lush green lawn stretching up to a towering mansion with dark gothic architecture.
The home was only made more ominous-looking by the color of the sky. A muted violet instead of blue, with clouds hanging around the moon… no, moons.
Sarada counted three in total but didn't rule out the possibility that there could be more hidden under the clouds. Was it night here or were the moons always out? Was there even a distinction between night and day here? It was notably warmer than home and rather humid, then again what should she have expected?
Her dark eyes anxiously wandered around the grounds as she followed her father through the gate. Sarada gripped the straps of her backpack tighter and asked, "Is this… Hell?"
Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at her. "No, Hell is much colder than this."
He said it so matter-of-factly. Like he'd been there before. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
They trekked up a cobblestone drive lined in cherry blossom trees seemingly in perpetual bloom. They were an odd contrast to the dark exterior of his manor, but the soft pink color couldn't help but remind Sarada of her mother.
Her heart clenched at the thought, but maybe that was just a coincidence.
The interior of his home matched the outside, with dark tones, elaborate crown molding, and brushed iron sconces illuminating the space with their warm glow. Sasuke allowed her a moment to look around before he spoke. "I'll show you up to your room so you can get settled."
He escorted her up a flight of stairs, a collage of old family portraits, painted landscapes, and ornate mirrors lined the dark taupe walls. Her father was a man of few words she decided as they stepped silently through the house.
Sasuke pushed open a pair of double doors at the end of the hall and stepped aside for her to walk in. What greeted her was a massive bedroom, presumably for her. Dark eyes wandered from the canopy bed covered in pillows to the balcony overlooking the front lawn. A vanity mirror sat in the corner opposite a lounge area with an already burning stone fireplace.
Sarada blinked at her father in disbelief when he explained the doors inside the room led to her en-suite bathroom and walk-in closet.
Much of the decor was a muted shade of violet, but the pale pink accents, cute embroidery, and lacy trim almost made it feel like it was decorated for a girl much younger than she.
How long ago had he prepared this room for her? How long had he been waiting for her powers to manifest?
"Is this suitable?" he asked, almost as if he was nervous.
"Yeah, this is great," Sarada replied, offering him a smile that she hoped he knew was genuine. She appreciated his obvious effort, plus the room was at least three times the size of hers at home.
"Please let me know if there's anything that would help you feel more comfortable." Nothing came to mind so Sarada only nodded before her father excused himself to allow her to unpack.
Her dark eyes wandered around the room as Sarada stepped deeper inside. She dropped her bag on the velvet chaise as her gaze locked on the open closet door.
Sasuke had not been joking when he said there were plenty of clothes for her. Hanging in the closet were a few dozen dresses, blouses, and skirts, while the drawers were full of frilly underwear and silk nightgowns.
But more curious than them being roughly her right size was the style. Each probably in vogue over a century ago.
Come to think of it, Sasuke's style was quite old-fashioned as well, not to mention this house.
At that thought, Sarada marched out of the closet and glanced around the room. To her dismay, there was in fact no technology in this house, all the light was candles in wall sconces or chandeliers.
A sigh escaped her lips. There goes any hope of charging her phone. Then again, she probably wouldn't get any signal anyway.
With nothing much else to do, she decided to prepare for bed. She slipped into one of the nightgowns she found, finding the silk pleasant against her skin.
Sarada pushed a half dozen pillows to the floor before pulling back the comforter and diving in. The bed was the perfect firmness. But shortly after closing her eyes, she realized all the candles were still burning.
She sat up, ready to get out of bed, when a thought occurred to her. Sarada allowed her eyes to flutter closed as she took a deep, centering breath.
In her mind's eye, she visualized the various candles illuminating her room along with the roaring fair place. Then she imagined them completely extinguished.
When she dared to open her eyes, every flame in her room had gone out, leaving only the moonlight shining through her balcony door. A proud smile stretched across her lips as Sarada fell back against her mountain of pillows.
She could do this.
She could learn to control her newfound powers, and she could build a relationship with the stranger who called himself her father.