Birth

Inside a luxurious room, a lady sat in bed with a newborn babe in her hand. Around her were maids and midwives that were and had assisted her during the delivery process.

The fact that the child was in her hand signified a safe delivery. However, whispers could be heard among the people with her in the room.

"Why doesn't the child cry?" Everyone kept asking themselves. Not up to fifteen minutes had gone by since the child came out from its mother's womb. It was normal for every child to cry at birth but this child was different.

"Could he be a sign of a great misfortune to come?"

"Is this her punishment for what she did?

More questions were asked among themselves but the mother of the child had paid no heed to the low discussion going on around her.

She just held on to her child in her arms. She was physically exhausted and looked like she could drop from any moment but she held on strong. She kept smiling at her newborn child as she held on to it.

The baby had jet-black hair and black eyes. It gave a look it understood all that was going on in the room.

Soon, it turned its head towards the direction of the room; the door, as a man dressed in expensive clothes and exuding a majestic aura, walked towards it and the mother.

The man had a lot of jewelry on; from the gold crown on his head to the silver necklace he wore around his neck, to the set of rings on his fingers. With the respect others in the room were according to him, it pretty much made it easy to identify him as a king.

The man had a crystal ball in his hand as he walked closer to the lady and her child. No expression was on his face, or better still, it was more of like he had no reason to care and was simply doing this because it was a duty.

He stood before the mother and child duo and placed the crystal ball in between the hands of the newborn child. The crystal shined brightly but the look on other people's faces in the room held disgust; murmurs could be heard among the people in the room.

The king, however, took back the crystal from the child and turned to leave the room. No one dared say a word as he walked out of the room. They just bowed their heads as he walked continuously.

"I wasn't expecting anything special anyway, so you have failed to disappoint me with the failure you have birthed."

The king had finally spoken as he walked out of the room. He didn't stop to even give a glance at the child or wait around to name the child with its mother. *slam*, the door to the room was shut closed as the king left.

The maids and midwives in the room immediately got to work. They finished the cleaning of the room and rejuvenating the new mother and the child with some sort of energy.

The woman didn't flinch at the king's comment of behavior. It's more of a fifty-fifty thing she was expecting. With her position in his palace, she wasn't expecting anything special from him, even on this day that her child had been born.

She seemed to be getting herself as the energy she was receiving seemed to help her heal up pretty quickly. Feeling much better than how she felt a few hours ago, she stood up from her bed and walked to a rocking chair beside a window in her room. This was the palace so, everything here was luxurious and extravagant.

She sat in the rocking chair and looked at the baby's eyes with love as she kissed it on its forehead.

"Adrian. My beautiful baby boy. This time, I will protect you with all I have."

***Baby's P.O.V***

"It's so dark"

"Where am I?"

"Is this the afterlife? and what is this sound?"

"Does my eye works here or I can just see on all sides since I am a spirit?"

"This noise, where is it coming from?"

"I should try opening my eyes".

As I successfully open my eyes, a gush of white light assaults my eyes that I have to close them once again. My brain was still trying to process what was happening.

Once again, I successfully open my eyes, but this time, slowly and gently. The face of a beautiful woman was before me.

"Damn, if only I had lived long enough, maybe I would have met someone as pretty as she was in my lifetime."

"Why is it so noisy? Even in death? Since I can see, let me take a look around."

"Huh? Aren't they all humans?"

"Why are my hands small?"

"Is this rebirth?"

"Oh! it makes sense."

The baby turned its head a bit to look at the face of the woman once again.

"My luck. ha-ha, my mother is a jaw-dropping beauty. Where is my father then? And why are these people murmuring? The noise is disturbing, goddammit."

I could see the love and care in the eyes of my mother. I giggled a bit.

"Mother," I tried saying, but no words came out of my mouth.

"I could understand what they were saying for some in-explainable reason. Since I had not cried at birth, they are starting to wonder if I am a cursed child."

"What's this talk about my mother's punishment? Has she sinned in any way?"

"Finally, some quiet. So, they could shut up for a minute."

I could hear some footsteps approaching my location. I turned my head in the direction of the sound.

"Wow! He is one hunk of a man. So that's my father. Thank you god. With this combo, I will be a lady killer in the future".

My joy was shattered instantly as I observed the face of the man I would grow up to call father. He had the same look on his face as "him". He doesn't care, he's only doing it because he wants to know if it would be useful to him. A face that only cares about itself.

The man approached me and drop a crystal ball in between my hands. I could feel the energy leaving my body, flowing through my hands as an outsource, into the ball. A bright light shone from the ball.

"What is this energy?"

"Am I like a battery that produces power to crystals like this?"

A lot of questions were on my mind but they were things I couldn't answer myself so I had to shove them aside for later. The man took back the crystal ball and walked out of the room.

There was no change to the expression on his face. I was thinking I was special at how brightly the ball shined. Was I wrong? Then I heard him speak

"Who are you calling a failure?" Anger grew within me. Now, I was eager to know my mother's sin and more about this new life I had been granted.

As he left, the maids in the room rushed to aid my mother. One was beside her and another was touching me. I could feel energy rushing into my body; the same type as the one that was going out when that man gave me that crystal ball.

The more I thought, the more questions came to my mind. I had a lot to do if I was going to survive in this world I am in.

My mother, with me in her arms, walked towards a window in the room. I couldn't see outside the window due to how I was positioned in her hands. She sat in a chair and began rocking me to sleep.

Before I close my eyes to sleep, I heard her call my name.

"Adrian, ..."

I didn't listen to the rest as I slept, but with the love she was showing me, I know that I would be safe with her.

"Hmm, Adrian. I love it"