Sacrifice
Fifteen years ago a second child was born to a beautiful french maiden, and was named Cherie Karuma Amelie de Grantaine Suoh. The baby dawned light brown hair and dark brown eyes with a surprisingly mild temper. A year later an elderly woman visited the woman visited the family of this young baby without announcement, and upon arriving plucked the babe from the arms of her mother. She sized the child up for a moment, clearly approving of it before speaking to the mother, "Miss Grantaine, I will formally approve of this child between you and my son to be the heir of the Suoh estate. She is clearly more in line with her lineage than your despicable first-born. He is still detestable." She gently placed the child back in it’s mother’s arms before walking off to prepare for the child’s upbringing. The babe watched her grandmother walk away, and still never made a sound.
The older brother of the newly declared heir was a different story: he seemed to be a lover of noise, always making as much chaos as he could conceive. While the mother found this endearing, it clearly was not approved of by his paternal grandmother who has already disowned the child at only 2 years old. The child, René, could be heard complaining loudly to the servant because the elderly lady had paid attention to his sister, Cherie, and had not acknowledged him at all.
A young girl looked out the window at the snow falling on a large cherry blossom tree from her bedroom window. Today was her sixth birthday and as a Suoh she would entertain her guests. The child had been raised from birth to be the heir of the prestigious family that resided in Japan, although the announcement of her designation would not be made until she was 16. Until this time it would be assumed that there simply was no approved heir for the family. Regardless of this lack of confirmation, she was raised to take over and to succeed. Even at 6 her knowledge far exceeded her years, and her older brother’s knowledge, whom could be heard making a racket in the room next door.
The girl stood from the window seat and fixed her dress, walking from her room and into the foyer where the family guests were mingling. She stood beside the baby grand piano and her father stepped beside her and raised his glass to make a toast. “May I present my daughter, Karuma Suoh.” Karuma curtseyed to the group of adults, and sat down to play her practised piece. The gathering was small this year, but as she got older and closer to being declared the heir more and more influential people would be invited to occasions. As she played she could feel her brother’s jealous gaze on her as he watched from the staircase. He was not permitted to attend this party, and so he and their mother were upstairs while her father and grandmother were downstairs with their guests.
Outside the window cherry blossoms could be seen falling as the blond child sat at the piano and tried with all his might to make it sound like it did when his sister played. He gave up and in frustration slammed his small fists down on the keys. A small noise came from beside him, “René, let me help you.”, and he saw his sister Cherie sit down on the other side of the bench and hold his hands tenderly for a moment. She then placed his hands on the piano keys and guided them the way they should have been moving. Over the next several months and years Cherie would help René to learn the piano.
As the girl approached the age of 13 her grandmother again appeared. In recent years her mother had been falling ill more and more often, leaving both children with a sense of despair. "I will offer you a deal. If your daughter comes with me to Japan then I will provide you with means to survive." The elderly lady said looking harshly at the small family.
"No, Grandmother I will take her place. Let me go instead of my sister, my mother needs her!" the blonde boy begged. He tried to seem rational, despite his underlying rage left over from his spat the day before with his sister.
The elder looked into the eyes of her granddaughter and saw the pain and sorrow. She assumed that the child had grown attached to France, and to her mother, and could not bare to be parted with them. "Very well, however if you fail to impress me everything will be cut off for both your mother and sister. Filthy child." she said and turned to walk away, the now heart broken 14 year old boy following her, forever leaving behind his little sister and mother.
The older brother of the newly declared heir was a different story: he seemed to be a lover of noise, always making as much chaos as he could conceive. While the mother found this endearing, it clearly was not approved of by his paternal grandmother who has already disowned the child at only 2 years old. The child, René, could be heard complaining loudly to the servant because the elderly lady had paid attention to his sister, Cherie, and had not acknowledged him at all.
A young girl looked out the window at the snow falling on a large cherry blossom tree from her bedroom window. Today was her sixth birthday and as a Suoh she would entertain her guests. The child had been raised from birth to be the heir of the prestigious family that resided in Japan, although the announcement of her designation would not be made until she was 16. Until this time it would be assumed that there simply was no approved heir for the family. Regardless of this lack of confirmation, she was raised to take over and to succeed. Even at 6 her knowledge far exceeded her years, and her older brother’s knowledge, whom could be heard making a racket in the room next door.
The girl stood from the window seat and fixed her dress, walking from her room and into the foyer where the family guests were mingling. She stood beside the baby grand piano and her father stepped beside her and raised his glass to make a toast. “May I present my daughter, Karuma Suoh.” Karuma curtseyed to the group of adults, and sat down to play her practised piece. The gathering was small this year, but as she got older and closer to being declared the heir more and more influential people would be invited to occasions. As she played she could feel her brother’s jealous gaze on her as he watched from the staircase. He was not permitted to attend this party, and so he and their mother were upstairs while her father and grandmother were downstairs with their guests.
Outside the window cherry blossoms could be seen falling as the blond child sat at the piano and tried with all his might to make it sound like it did when his sister played. He gave up and in frustration slammed his small fists down on the keys. A small noise came from beside him, “René, let me help you.”, and he saw his sister Cherie sit down on the other side of the bench and hold his hands tenderly for a moment. She then placed his hands on the piano keys and guided them the way they should have been moving. Over the next several months and years Cherie would help René to learn the piano.
As the girl approached the age of 13 her grandmother again appeared. In recent years her mother had been falling ill more and more often, leaving both children with a sense of despair. "I will offer you a deal. If your daughter comes with me to Japan then I will provide you with means to survive." The elderly lady said looking harshly at the small family.
"No, Grandmother I will take her place. Let me go instead of my sister, my mother needs her!" the blonde boy begged. He tried to seem rational, despite his underlying rage left over from his spat the day before with his sister.
The elder looked into the eyes of her granddaughter and saw the pain and sorrow. She assumed that the child had grown attached to France, and to her mother, and could not bare to be parted with them. "Very well, however if you fail to impress me everything will be cut off for both your mother and sister. Filthy child." she said and turned to walk away, the now heart broken 14 year old boy following her, forever leaving behind his little sister and mother.