New Life

Azael opened his eyes while he leaned to the side to dwell on his error and try to forget his past of being a burden. However, all he could see were six wooden columns that were covered on all sides.

' Wait, wait, wait... Am I in a cage? '

In disbelief, he squinted his eyes to see more clearly. Outside of his "cage", he spotted a figure on the bed, lying and panting profusely.

'Well, well, well, what do we have here? Is she my birth mother? '

As a consequence of having the body of a newborn, his eyesight is still a problem. He couldn't see well and couldn't discern minor details about his environment. The silhouette, on the other hand, arose and approached him.

'Damn, being a newborn was the worst thing that could have happened to me. My vision is fuzzy, my senses are dull, I can't move in a certain direction, and I'm guessing that I can't take a piss and take a dump without someone assisting me.'

Azael shook his head when he considered the drawbacks of being a newborn.

'By the Gods? What have I become? And that's not even the worst part. Being a newborn means that I'll be imprisoned in a cage for a year! '

After this, Azael shook his head to ignore his fate of being a newborn. He was, however, reminded of an old anecdote.

'If what my subjects told me before is correct, according to the stories passed down for generations, a newborn may taste the most exquisite water in all the seven realms known to Gods and men alike,'

The Silhouette approached him and gazed at him for a moment before picking him up and cradling him as she strolled around the chamber.

'Ah yes, there it is'

Azael squinted his eyes towards the breast of the woman.

'Breast Milk!'

She spotted his eyes twitching while looking at her breast. Hence, Angelica flashed him a bright smile and patted his small nose.

"Nope, nope, no little one. You still have to wait for 3 weeks in order to taste my milk."

In reaction to her remarks, Azael grumbled.

'By the Gods, why?!?'

After this, Azael sneered and vowed,

'Oh, you'd better be ready for the next three weeks, woman. Because I...'

The infant turned toward Angelica's crystal blue eyes with a toothless smile, and she kissed her forehead in return. Azael, on the other hand, had a different narrative.

'Because... I'm going to suck you dry like a mule.'

Meanwhile, after his mother's legs tired of walking around, she approached the window seal and sat while she stared at the gleaming heavens before shifting her gaze to Azael.

"You know, even though some will consider you weak because of your pale skin."

Afterward, she hoisted Azael at the window and continued,

'Hey, hey, hey…Is she trying to dispose of me for my pale skin?!"

Azael thought when he felt the cold breeze that made his sensitive skin shudder. Hence, he tried to squirm. Angelica, on the other hand, pulled closer to her embrace.

"Mommy will take care of you no matter what."

Azael felt her motherly warmth as his eyes began to feel heavy and drowsy..

"I, Angelica Ignatia, your birth mother, and your upcoming best friend, welcome you to this world, Leithan Ignatia!" she said as she kissed him on the forehead.

...................

"Would you like to hold him?"

A mother said while cradling her infant in her arms. Angelica had just concluded giving birth an hour earlier, and the midwives and her family had left her to rest. She did, however, direct her gaze to the door in front of her.

"Hmmph, I know you're there, Nathan." Angelica puffed her cheeks and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"If you won't come ouuuuutttt, I won't bake you my sweeeeeeetssssss....." She grinned.

When she uttered the word, "Sweets," the door creaked open, revealing a little boy who had accidentally poked his head inside while tilting his head in confusion.

"Umm... How did you know I was there? And Ummm...I was told that you still needed rest."

Angelica let out a grin at her son's query.

"Let's just say...Ummm...My mother senses are tingling, te-he," she said while poking her tongue out.

After this, Angelica raised her pale hand, waved it to the boy to come in, and let out a smile for reassurance. Nathan's face lightened as he saw this, and he took one step inside and closed the door behind him before walking toward his Mother's bedside.

As he approached, Nathan shifted his gaze to the baby in her arms with his Amber Eyes before saying,

"Umm... Is...he...my...little...brother?" he whispered to avoid disturbing the baby.

Angelica gave him a warm smile as she leaned the baby closer to the boy.

"Yep, isn't he cute?"

Nathan's eyes glowed as he stared at the newborn. He had wished for a younger sibling for quite a while now and had tried to look for one.

Hence, he would ask the folks surrounding the manor where infants came from, and they would always change the topic or avoid it altogether.

Angelica caught a glimpse of his flickering hands and desire to cradle his brother, so she stretched out her hand and caressed his cheek before saying

"Would you like to hold him?"

With a narrowed gaze, Nathan turned to his mother as he gulped and asked,

"Can I?"

"Of course, you can, here," Angelica replied as she stood up and walked towards him.

"But what if I drop him, and..."

But before he could add another word, Angelica approached him and laid down the infant in his shaking arms, after which she returned to her bed, lay down, and smiled from ear to ear at her children.

The visions she had in her head, however, were far from reality when the newborn slipped from Nathan's arms due to his trembling and sweaty hands. He panicked and grabbed the infant's arm while yelling at his mother.

"Hey, Mom! He's slipping! Help! Help!"

Her son's screams jolted her back to reality, and she began to sweat profusely at the horrible sight, before exclaiming,

"Hey, hey, wait a minute, not like that! You need to hold his..."

Angelica sprang out of bed and dashed at him to reposition her son's arm beneath the newborn, while she also adjusted the baby to his shoulders and chest.

When the situation had cooled down, they both wiped the sweat from their brows. and glanced at each other,

"You should've seen your face, Haha."

"Hmmph, you too Mom, you were like, oh no, not that! Haha."

They both giggled at their errors, but before they could continue to cherish the moment, the baby twitched, prompting Angelica to press her finger over her lips while she gestured her other finger to the window seal beside her bed.

"Shhh... Okay, let's move up there so that I can rest and you can hold your brother under the Pale Moonlight."

After this, Angelica ruffled her son's brown hair and walked toward her bed, followed by her son behind her. While she lay on her bed, her son stood at the open window beside her. The boy stared at his brother's sleeping face and murmured while he tapped his finger on his cheek...

"Ummm, mom... Isn't he a little pale? Will he be able to survive the assessment?"

Angelica shook her head and replied,

"Don't worry about him. I know that he'll pass the family assessment. However, if he won't..."

She shifted her gaze to the open window where the moon and the stars illuminated the heavens and said

"We'll escape from the family all together with your father. So don't worry, Nathan, your brother will be safe."

She then turned her gaze back to Nathan and caressed his cheek. She stood up and knelt as she grabbed the baby from Nathan's arms and walked towards the cradle, kissing her newborn on the head before laying him on it. Afterward, she returned to her bed and laid down once more, and smiled at Nathan.

"Nathan, Mommy still has to rest, okay? And once I finish my rest, I may play with you whatever you want."

Nathan's eyes glimmered as he nodded profusely and ran towards the door before closing it as he exited.

****

After this, his mother walked towards the window seal and sat while she stared at the gleaming heavens before shifting her gaze to Azael.

"You know, even though some will consider you weak because of your pale skin."

Afterward, she hoisted Azael at the window and continued,

'Hey, hey, hey…Is she trying to dispose of me for my pale skin?!"

Azael thought when he felt the cold breeze that made his sensitive skin shudder. Hence, he tried to squirm. Angelica, on the other hand, pulled closer to her embrace.

"Mommy will take care of you no matter what."

Azael felt her motherly warmth as his eyes began to feel heavy and drowsy..

"I, Angelica Ignatia, your birth mother, and your upcoming best friend, welcome you to this world, Leithan Ignatia!" she said as she kissed him on the forehead.