The rain poured endlessly as thunder struck, bright bolts of lightning flashing across the night sky. The weather forecast had predicted a slight breeze, but nothing like what was currently going on.
Since it was the New World Federation's capital planet, the technology on planet Aldera was very advanced. It should've been enough to predict the weather accurately, but as the facts showed, nature was still able to elude mankind's technology.
One district was struck particularly hard. A rich district were many affluent families lived, separated by mansions that took up a fair amount of ground. Some more than others, and one specific mansion was bigger than even the next four combined.
This also happened to be the exact place where the thunder and rain struck the heaviest.
…
Two men stood guard in a hallway. Standing guard was usually a tedious post, but the two men couldn't be happier about their assignment. This post conveyed the Arkatal family's deep trust in them.
From behind the door they were guarding, labored screams rang out periodically. The woman inside was howling in pain.
One of the guards checked his watch and sighed, "It seems to be a tough birth. Third Miss has been in there for over 12 hours now."
Echoing his sigh, the other guard was quite anxious. Tiny drops of sweat dripped down his forehead, "I hope all goes well. To think the Young Master will enter this world any moment now."
The Third Miss of the Arkatal family was currently in labor. It was a big spectacle for the whole family as it would be the firstborn of the current generation. Moreover, the Third Miss was giving birth to a boy. Standing guard in this situation meant you were one of the most trusted servants of the family. The only person more trusted who wasn't a member of the family was the steward, and he was inside the room. Clearly these guards were valued quite highly.
…
Inside of the room.
"Keep pushing Third Miss, he's coming out! I can see the head now." The midwife said.
"Arghh, I am pushing!" The woman on the bed roared. In any other situation she probably would've been quite beautiful, but now she mostly resembled an angry bear screaming at anyone and everything in the room.
"Yes miss, you're doing good. He's almost all the way out." The midwife said, "Just one final push."
"Okay… Okay." The Third Miss muttered, sounding out of breath, "Hnnnnnng." Her entire face went red as she pushed the baby all the way out, right into the midwife's hands.
"Well done miss." The midwife swabbed the baby in a blanket and was about to hand him over, "Oh, he's opening his eyes." The midwife stopped for a second, and then let out a shrill scream. The high pitched scream was very unlike the Third Miss' deep growls from earlier.
In her fear and shock she let go of the baby. Both parents panicked for a split second, before the baby fell safely into the mother's lap. Fortunately the midwife had been standing right next to the bed when she dropped the baby.
The newly minted parents breathed out a sigh of relief before focusing their glares onto the midwife. They could've been childless shortly after becoming parents for the first time, it was understandable that they were furious.
"What's the meaning of this? Are you trying to kill my son?" A man started scolding the midwife. The man was the newborn's father, Lynwood Arkatal, the current patriarch of the family. He was a tall gruff man with an intimidating look.
"H-His eyes," The midwife stammered, "They're red!"
"What? Red?" The boy's father was taken aback, his brows furrowing.
He walked over to his wife as they both looked at the baby that currently had it's eyes closed.
The boy's eyes began to scrunch together, fluttering a bit before opening.
Lynwood frowned, focusing his gaze, "Red…"
The boy's eyes were bright and open, a crimson red filled the irises. It was unmistakable, both of the boy's eyes were red.
"Rain… Thunder…" Lynwood mumbled to himself. Looking towards his newborn son as determination filled his eyes, "All the signs are present."
"Honey…" His wife who was also the Third Miss of the family, recognized that look and tugged on his arm.
"We have to get rid of him." Lynwood shook his head.
"No!" The Third Miss denied, her shoulders slightly shaking, "He's my son, yours too."
"He's a demon Avery. Think about what people will say, what it will do to our family."
"Since when has it been a crime to be a demon? There are several living within the Federation." Avery protested, tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.
"Those are mere fiends!" Lynwood raised his voice, scaring his wife, "There are no noble demons within the Federations territory."
"He's just an innocent child! A baby." Avery sobbed, looked gently down at her son, gently stroking his soft chubby cheek, "Look at him, so calm and carefree. Doesn't he deserve a chance at life too? At love?"
"I'm not saying we kill him. If we send him off to live with the demon race, I'm sure they'll take good care of him." As he spoke, the confidence in his voice began to falter. He looked pained at his son, starting to doubt his own conviction. He'd always wanted a son. In fact, as the patriarch it was his duty to uphold the family lineage. For five years he and Avery had had been trying. With his other two wives he had been trying for 15 years! He he had felt cursed by the heavens. 15 years and no luck at all. None whatsoever. At 36 years of age, this was his first child.
Thoughts started swirling inside his head. What if he never had another son? What if he never had any more kids at all? He felt that it was a very real possibility. If he threw away this child, there was a great chance that the prestigious Arkatal family would end with him. A family that had stood strong for tens of thousands of years would end if he didn't have another kid. If he allowed that to happen, how could he possibly face his ancestors in the afterlife?
On the outside his frown only grew deeper. Both options were terrible to him. He sighed and pinched his eyebrows. He was starting to reconsider.
He looked up and met his wife's eyes. The pain and anguish he saw within was the final encouragement he needed.
"Fine! We will discuss this matter." Lynwood looked around the room, remembering that they weren't alone, "Rose go to your room for now. I will come see you later, don't speak to anybody yet."
"Understood Mr. Arkatal." She nodded eagerly, still nervous and shaking. She left in a hurry, almost like she couldn't get out of the room too quickly.