"Mom!"
I had been resting for several days after the system warning before I finally opened my eyes. Those words left my mouth before I could even catch myself fully.
Right now, only this woman mattered.
Were these feelings from the merging of souls?
"My daughter, you are..." she sobbed, hugging me. I stiffened, feeling slightly disgusted and depressed. These conflicting emotions were hard to process, but I had accepted it all, in the end at least. This woman –
My mother was sick, a defect of our bloodline, this is what she had told me. She was extremely weak and her lifespan, which should have been over a thousand years, had been shortened to a mere century, remaining just enough for me to mature fully.
I felt sad; I don't know why, it's not like she was my birth mother – only of this body – but I had fooled myself into believing that she was truly that and well… I became so happy in those thoughts after so long of being free –
A leisure living without fear of them finding me. I had finally found a place to belong.
For the few days, I became acquainted with my mother and, in no time, I was close to being fully healed.
Whenever I heard the system speak now, it felt like background noise to me.
The boys who saved me were nowhere to be seen since my mother had personally "collected" me. To me, I am not bothered by this, too engrossed with having a genuine mother without worries, pampering me nonstop.
Since the hollow I had been living in for the past twenty years had been discovered and destroyed, I accompanied my mother to work.
The family, known by the name Wu, were a family of four: husband, wife and two sons; no concubines, which was quite a surprise, since I had learned in this world concubines and bed servants are common.
Servants comprising a butler, housekeeping, a few cleaning servants.
All in all, the Wu family were quite considerate, especially once they had come to terms with the fact that the woman who worked for them had a daughter that they had no clue existed and had yet to be registered into the world system. Luckily this family was quite reclusive, so registering me was not a problem.
They had two sons off to school I had not yet met and no daughters, this reason is why they spoiled me. Well, which girl didn't want to be spoiled?
A month shifted to three, six and then a year.
I kept in touch with the four males; my mother had retrieved their information so we could comm each other on the wristband with her supervision: always nearby, eyes like a hawk. We met up every time they were nearby, which was twice so far.
I grew from looking like ten to a twelve-year-old in ten years, and, with the help of my mother's employers after discussing my future education, I had then been enrolled in a school, and given the Wu name.
Wu Jie Tyna.
I liked it, at least I had an identity now, instead of either daughter, spawn or a little one.
The downside of going to school... was being separated from my mother again.
"Wu Jie, I know that you might find it strange becoming a Wu, but it will help you with school. Now, as a small child, you will be attending the primary school for ten years before entering the one for older children. There you will spend fifteen before graduating. Afterwards you can decide which courses you want to take, but it is a while yet. Ah dear, we will miss you twenty-five years is but a short time."
I blinked; if not for the memories and the knowledge that for the past ten years I aged only two years' worth, making me look like twelve, I'd throw a fit.
Well, at least I can learn more than enough during this time, maybe self-defence, study some more, explore … sigh … everything is endless.
So far for every five years, I aged one year; back on earth this would probably be a curse.
I'm here now, and excitement filled me to the brim.
This is awesome! Plus, the average life span for a human is five hundred years and for my bloodline, one thousand. What a life!
"Here is a space ring for important documents, daughter. I want you to cherish this family, they have been good to us. Connect it to your wristband."
I looked at my mother, the defective one, born with fair skin, silver eyes and long pale blue hair, a product of our grandmother marrying out of our race to escape the family's clutches.
The price of my mother's shortened life span and me becoming an orphan soon.
Again.
Inhaling her and relaxing in her embrace, I closed my eyes, content for a moment.
"The serum will fade soon, there are eight more vials remaining for the next forty years. But by then you will know how to survive."
"Yes, mother."
The said serum in the vials is to lighten my cocoa-coloured skin and give my thick mass of hair with a slight curl while my eyes changed to a dull, dark brown. Now in the world with the families a few like me were around golden skin, curly hair and dark eyes; some had slightly darker shades of skin and coloured eyes.
This was stupid: because something was few in number, it was coveted.
I miss earth, life was much more of leisure. I rather prefer being a stripper; my life was less complicated.
No man wanted me then, no one coveted something everyone already "saw" and "used".
That still was my choice, though who would have thought that a child who had gotten away would have a life like that... Working in the club.
Haha haha, I laughed now, thinking that something like me they had hunted my mother back then and trapped would be reduced to be –
I should forget the earth.