A Child Lost by Midnight Song

Harbinger

When he arrived at the citadel, Toga ignored the surprised looks of his soldiers and merely jumped over the barricades, not bothering, having never bothered, with the locks and gates before. The child’s blood still flowed freely against his kimono and he could hear her heart slowing. Frowning down at her as moved swiftly from gate to gate, he refused to allow her passage now. He had already gone to so much trouble for the girl. 

Flying over the last protective wall, he landed with a flutter of cloth and magic in the personal outer gardens of the family wing of his palace. He could scent his mate; hear the soft suckling of his son at her breast. Smiling slightly, he hurried forward, seeking them out by scent. 

When he found them under the great willow tree in the center of the garden, he stopped. A maid stood silently to the side, head bowed and hands clasped before her. "Fetch Atsuki," he ordered, before turning to Fuiasu. 

His mate studied him, her own amber eyes half-lidded with sleep. It was fascinating to watch her wake slowly as the scent of the baby's blood filled the air. She raised a brow and centered her attention on the bundle in his arms. "You've brought a snack," she said quietly, probing the child gently with her yōki. 

Toga smirked but shook his head. "A curiosity," he corrected, "In the well on the edge of our lands. Injured yet alive, floating in the water."

Fuiasu raised both brows now before delicately setting the baby she held on the blanket they occupied. Standing, she moved sedately, gracefully, to her mate and held out her arms. The minute she touched the baby's skin, her eyes went blank and she was locked in the typical trance that accompanied her visions. The images she saw were a burden and in that moment alone, she truly hated what the Kami's had gifted her with. For an instant, she was tempted to kill the girl now for the simple portent she brought with her mere existence. 

But she didn't. Maybe it was duty, maybe it was the same motherly nature that allowed her to nurture her own pup; whatever it was, Fuiasu could not bring herself to murder the harbinger of her eventual future.

o.O.o

Word Count: 384