Shadow did his best not to scream in pain and anguish as the muscles of his supposed mother's vagina squished him and pushed his brittle body out of her womb.
He felt all sorts of wrong?
What kind of joke was this?
He usually dove into women. Not diving out of them.
The shift in the air took him by surprise. Even though he would rather not cry, he found his toddler body unable to keep up with the change in environment.
Shadow tried. He truly tried to stop himself from crying. It was completely unbecoming of a man. An Assassin must never break and show their true feelings.
"Waaaaahhhh" Shadow let out a long cry against his very nature. He cursed at himself. The more he tried to hold it in. The more his cries came pouring out.
Abominable!
Disgraceful! He thought to himself.
"He's alive Lea! He's alive" a young maiden carried him up and cleaned the blood all over his body. She also clipped at his novel and cleaned the wound.
"My… son…" Shadow, despite his cries, could see his mother. She looked beautiful yet weak. Her hair was black as coal, but his eyes glowed a deep purple.
Just like Syl!
Lea reached her hand out to him. She wanted to hold her baby boy at the very least.
Shadow felt himself being carried and caressed gently by his mother. But she had a certain look in her eyes.
He knew that look all too well. He has seen it countless times.
"I'll feed him… Just this once". Lea's voice was weak and drained. It felt as though she had no more strength in her.
Shadow wasn't sure why he knew, but he chose to remain silent. He decided to be a crying baby for now. No one would judge him for doing so.
His mother deserves this much.
Lea opened his breasts and fed it to Shadow. Willing, but unwillingly, Shadow took her nipples into his mouth.
"Lea you're still bleeding!" The happy maid just noticed for the first time. But Shadow still sucked. He would give her the satisfaction that she needed.
The feeling of being a mother. He could feel her heart thumping wildly in her chest. He could feel her tears fall to his cheeks as he sucked on her breast milk. He could feel the love and care she showed towards him in her final moments.
"Lea, please stop. We need to stem the blood right now! I could call a healer and heal you right away" the maid cried out.
"No need Lisa. I'm happy enough to hold him in my hands" Lea responded. She was truly happy that she could feed her son one last time.
But Lisa ran away from the room searching for help. She couldn't let her little sister die.
But Shadow kept on what he was doing. He held on to her as a baby would cling onto its mother.
"My son. What beautiful eyes you have. Same as mine" Lea giggled a bit as the blood slowly drained from her face.
"You're also quite a big baby. It took everything I had just to get you out".
"You're going to be a strong man. And don't hate your father too much, he has other things to attend to, or I'm sure he would have been here".
At that point, Lea reached out to the table besides her. To an ink pen and a sheet of paper and sticker down something on it. Then dropped it back and focused on her child.
"Kael… Kael Draven. That's going to be your name my son" Lea said, slowly losing herself. Shadow nodded just this once.
Deep in his heart, he felt a certain connection to this woman that couldn't be explained. She had named him. Given him an identity. Given him a chance at freedom, the life he had always wanted.
"Good boy". Those were Lea's final words as her hand slipped from his body and fell to his side. Her neck fell to the side as her body grew limp.
Shadow still sucked at her breast. He didn't know what to do, he wasn't sure he could have done anything at that point.
He tried pushing feelings down, but it was useless. His lips let go of her nipples and Shadow cried.
He cried for the pain and loss he never knew to have until this day. He cried as he realized just how precious life was and how he had taken so much away from others.
He cried because of the cruelty of this world. Wherever he was, nothing ever changed about life.
And lastly, he cried for his mother and himself. He cried simply because he needed too. A way to express himself that wasn't the way of an assassin.
Just this once. He thought to himself as he cried.
At that moment, Lisa ran into the room with another woman. She saw her sister's limp body and her child wailing at her breasts.
Lisa fell to her knees and cried as well. She couldn't save her sister. The one whom her parents had told her to watch after. To protect and live with all her heart.
Yet, she lay dead on her bed. Blood soaked through every material around her sister. Lisa walked to her dead sister and held her face for the last time.
Her beautiful sister. Her pride and Joy. Gone.
Lisa looked at the table where she saw a writing with an ink pen on the sheet of paper. It read only one word.
"Kael" she whispered not withholding her tears. They flowed like an endless stream. She reached out and carried the baby boy struggling at his dead mother's breasts.
She would take care of him. She would protect him from the Lord. The same noble who had impregnated his sister and left her to die.
She would save him from his other half siblings. She swore this to herself as she carried Shadow from the room.
Shadow felt an ache in his heart. An ache he wasn't sure would end. He finally understood just how precious life was.