Chapter I: Their spring miracle

The light of the moon peeked into the room through the large window, revealing the drenching figure of a woman slumped on the pillows, supporting her exhausted body.

"Ayame-sama, take a deep breath. That's it. You are doing great!" Ayame's features twisted with pain when a strong contraction followed the encouraging words of the midwife. The latter moved some of her auburn strands from her face, while her other hand was trapped in Ayame's iron grip.

"Ai-san, I can see the crown of her head! Ayame-sama, take another deep breath and push. Trust your instinct!" Ayame did as she was told as the need to push became unbearable, a piercing pain in her upper thighs forced her to grind her teeth, while some tears furrowed her cheeks.

Suddenly a faint cry that turned into a loud wailing filled the room.

Ayame opened her eyes that she'd unconsciously closed."Azuki-chan, I'm going to call Lord Kuran." Ayame ignored the voice of Ai-san beside her, all her senses were captured by the wailing baby hidden in the arms of the midwife.

"It's a girl Ayame-sama. And she is completely healthy." She said, wiping the blood from the newborn's body, before wrapping her in a blanket. She softly smiled as she noticed the joyful tears streaming down the new mother face.

Ayame knew that her fourth pregnancy was an unexpected miracle. A pregnancy for a pureblood vampire was long and dangerous to carry out as the fetus sucks all the energy from the mother to develop, leaving her vulnerable and unable to defend herself. Even more, an unquenchable thirst for human blood accompany all the months of the pregnancy; for this reason many purebloods wait centuries before having a child, the fact that she had four was almost unheard in their world.

"Let me hold her." Ayame faintly whispered as the midwife proceeded to carefully pass her the child, "Ai-san went to inform Takeshi-sama, Ayame-sama." She said, before started to clean the room.

Ayame nodded without diverting her eyes from the baby, drinking in every detail of her daughter face. The baby lied peacefully in her arms, soothed by her mother smell. Her small face was all wrinkly and red from crying, some auburn strands framed her little face, covering a pair of small eyebrows.

She was beautiful, thought Ayame. She knew that it was still too soon to say to whom she will resemble, as she still recalled the time when Haruka's hair turned from a light auburn to an intense raven.

a noise of rushed footsteps and the opening of the door caused her to finally look up. The woman smile seeing her husband stern features, the man didn't lose time in reaching her side, leaving a soft kiss on her forehead.

Ayame nuzzled her nose in her husband neck, Takeshi felt the months of tension and worry unravel under her touch, after all these centuries she could read him as the back of her hand.

Ayame snorted noticing her children all crammed against the doorstep. "Rido, Haruka, Juri meet your new baby sister." Her daughter face lit up at her words, while her sons smiled at the news. "What's her name?" asked Juri, closing the gap that separated her from her mother, causing her new sister to wrinkle her little nose at her loud tone. Ayame looked her husband, his eyes glued to their new addition, "Sakura… her name is Sakura Kuran." The couple exchanged a knowing smile.

Sakura, their little spring miracle.