A Blossoming Flower (Falling Petals)

Don't Abandon me, Please.

"Sakura!!"

At the sudden loud voice, Sakura flinches and turns around, only to see Raphael give her a disapproving glare.

's**t! Mama Raphael showed up just when I used a bad word.' She knew she wouldn't be able to escape this round of scolding, but she didn't think about appolagizing for it at all.

She thought the best bet was to run in her fathers arms, so she did. Mihkael lifted her up and wanted to ask what's wrong, however she already hid her face in his chest, as if cocooning herself.

"Sakura, darling. Papa needs to know why you dislike your new friend so much."

"Friend? Heh, I'll never be friends with him. He's just a pest." 

She laughed as if what she heard was a joke and didn't even want to look at the kid.

"Your highness! That is not how you should speak to guests. You need to apologize now."

"No!"

"Your highness!"

"NO!"

"Sakura!!"

She flinched when Raphael raised his voice, she turn and saw him placing his hands by his waist, he was truly angry.

'Damn, now he is in full "scolding mother" pose. But I won't apologize. Rather, I don't want to have anything to do with any of the capture targets, so I rather give them a reason to hate me, rather than be blamed for things.'

"I won'th! He isn'th my guest so he can leave!"

"That is not how a princess should act, especially the next ruler of this empire. Give an apolagie to them now!"

"I hath wou Raphael!"

The moment Sakura yelled that, she covered her mouth and looked back. Raphael stood in shock, his eyes grew dim and lonely, the pain was visible. And Sakura was stabbed with guilt and frustration.

'No! I didn't mean that! Stupid, stupid, Stupid Sakura!! Apologize now, Now!!'

"Raph...."

"I'm sorry for going overboard your highness. I shall leave you be then."

"Ralph, you know she didn't mean that."

Mihkael tries to fix the situation that went out of hand, and Seraph tried to make him wait to, but Raphael just shakes his head and leaves the room.

While watching his back leave through that door, Sakura felt an overwhelming lost, as if her last ray of light was dimming bit by bit.

"NNOOOO!!!! AHHHH!!!!"

She let out a blood curling scream, she grabs her hair and starts pulling all the decorated gems in them. Tears again flow from her eyes, but with them, a bit of blood, she accidentally scratched her face with one of the ornaments in her hair and it left a trail of blood.

Her cries were filled with agony, anger, and the sense of a lost child. As if she lost her own existence the moment Raphael left through that door. Mihkael was pale with fright, he didn't know how to explain the feeling he had, but if he didn't fix this situation soon, he had a strong sense that he will lose his precious child.

"Sakura, stop!" He grabs her hands and try to stop her, he can see a few strands of hair were already ripped from her hair and he grew more alarmed. Both her maids and Seraph tried to appease her too, but it was if no ones voice can reach her, she was in a state of shock.

Between the pulling and trying to stop her, Phelan felt a moment of deja-vu, as if this wasn't the first time he saw her like this, but he was afraid. Afraid that she won't ever return.

So he went running out of the room. Hedwig wanted to follow, but went to help Mihkael try to grab her hands, he can see the damage could get worse if they didn't stop her.

Phelan took a long time to finally reach Raphael because he was using wind magic to quicken his steps, so he already was far of earshot and sight of the office.

"Sir!! Please.." Phelan was panting and out of breath, he worried if maybe Raphael hasn't heard, but he sees the man stop. Feeling a ray of hope. He runs the rest of the way to the man and grabs his suit pants.

"His highness... Phelan?" The boy looks up and sees the rims of Raphael's eyes red, as if he was crying. 

"Your highness Phelan. Please forgive Sakura, she just isn't used to meeting a child around her age. Please.... is something wrong?"

"Sa... Sakura is in pain.... crying... bleeding..."

Phelan was trying to explain what was happening, but he didn't have the breath to, he hasn't learn any magic yet so he couldn't use any to help with his physical abilities. But before he can say anymore. He was grabbed by the waist and carried all the way back, he felt the wind being used to glide back. They reached the door only to hear her screams grow louder.

Raphael flinched and let the boy down outside the room, he didn't know if a child should see this.

When he took those first steps into the room, there was total mayhem, files and papers littered the floor, objects were pushed and broken from the scuffle and he can see Hedwig and Mihkael grabbing an arm each, and Seraph was trying to speak to her with her maids, but with no success.

Her hair was a mess, with signs that it was pulled and ripped from the few strands that was on her dress and the floor. Her right cheek was bleeding from a scratch as well as her forehead. Her eyes were wide yet was like a glass marble, as if there was no life in it, her tears keep streaming from her eyes and she kept mumbling something, but no one understood what.

Raphael quickly walked over and lightly places his palm in her cheek.

"Sakura...." 

He whispers her name so he wouldn't scare her, but the moment she heard his voice, her eyes turn to him and focused on him. He wanted to cry, but held it in. He gave a small smile and called her again.

"Sakura... it's ok, everything is ok." He was coaxing her, trying to get her back to a stable state.

"Ahh.... Raphuel.... uhhh... sowwy.... I'm....sorry.."

Sakura wanted to reach out to him, but Mihkael and Hedwig still had a hold of her arms. Raphael looked at Mihkael, then at Hedwig and did a light nod. Both men looked at him then turn to each other, they both let go at the same time.

Sakura threw herself on Raphael and wept in his shoulder. 

Raphael sensed her fear and pain, and was guilty for leaving her like that.

"Your highness... it's ok now, I'm here, I'm here." He lightly pats her back and holds her close. Her weeping grew dim till the only thing that was heard was her rhythmic breathing. She felt calm and rested in Raphael's shoulder.

Taking the situation in, no one knew what to say about this. But Seraph quickly took action.

"I apologize to our guests for witnessing that. But I hope it won't hurt your image of our princess. She has never done such a thing till now."

Seraph bows to Hedwig, Daisy and Ivy did so as well. They were with their princess for a few months now, and they knew she was a calm and quiet child. She has never show such dislike to a person.

Raphael wanted to bow too, but Hedwig stops him.

"Do not worry my friends. My grandchild is partly to blame, he must have frightened her when he approached and grabbed her out of nowhere. But I hope you are lenient with her. She seems to be a bit weak mentally, even emotionally. Help her with that, especially since you know the recent state of our lands Mihkael." He looked at Mihkael in a serious way.

"You know those things like to fester in the mind of emotional and mentally weak people. You should check around your palace, and those who approach her highness." 

The older man has lived much longer that any of them, and he was just an infant when the corruption was defeated 500 years ago, but his own father and grandfather never stopped telling him of that war and how people lost themselves to the corruption, even how people allied themselves with the corruption just to dispose of enemies or to reach higher in ranks. It was chaos and Hedwig felt maybe something that is happening to her highness might have something to do with it. 

Mihkael listens to his warning and his face hardens at the idea, but he nods and had Seraph take them to the guest room. Hedwig goes out to only see his grandson sitting on the floor looking at his leg. Hedwig sighs and lifts the boy up and begins following behind Seraph. 

Inside the room, Sakura didn't want to let go of Raphael, she clenched his shirt as if he was her lifeline. He patted her back and lightly swayed her so she can sleep. But she couldn't- no, didn't want to go to sleep, she felt that if she did, she might not see Raphael again.

"I'm here now, it's ok, it's ok. I won't leave."

"Please...."

"Hmm?"

"Please don't abandon me. Please."

Her childish voice was laced with agony and loss. Raphael held her tightly and felt tears swell in his eyes, but he kept his composure.

"Yes my dear child, I will never, ever abandon you. I will always be by your side." She trembled and held his closer.

'He was the only one to never leave. Each route, each ending, he stood by her side, even dying for her in one or two endings. But when I saw him turn and walk away. I was thrown into a dark abyss that I may have never return from. It hurt so much.' She trembled in fear and worried what was happening to her.

'The first day I was here, I felt like the old Sakura released her pain, but I get so emotional in different situations, I felt something truly is wrong. Is her emotional pain still in her body? Even when the original owner isn't her and the body was reverted back as a child?'

But while asking herself that question, her body was relaxed out of relief when Raphael promised to never abandon her.

Her eyelids grew heavy. Close to fully closing her eyes, she looked up, she saw her father look on in sadness, and when he noticed her gaze, he smiled at her. But that smile looked sad to Sakura, to her, he looked lonely and isolated, all alone wanting to reach out to her.

But the last thought that reached her mind was.

'Too late....' she closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

Raphael and Mihkael sat in silence, they gave Sakura to her caretakers, Daisy and Ivy, both women were crying and took her to her room as if they held some delicate treasure.

Mihkael let out a long sigh when he leaned on his chair and rested on it.

"Daisy has healing magic, she is a step away from reaching middle tier, so her healing abilities are well enough to heal Sakura's wounds, but even so, I told them to double check with a royal healer. So do not worry Mihk"

"Heh, as if I can't worry about my child. She has changed, you who is always there for her must have noticed it more than me."

"Yes, but she changed to a child who holds her feeling in check, she became even more kind or lenient with the servants, but now she never tried to create a deep attachment with them. Even now, I felt she was hiding something."

Raphael faces the direction that Sakura was taken and felt a deep sense of confusion and guilt.

"I thought she just matured a bit after the accident she had. No... I actually tried to ignore the small and big changes, because she was my princess, the child I held and fell in love with and promised to always protect. I don't care what others say, but only her joy matters to me, so I tried to ignore it because she is my treasure."

Raphael looks at his hands, as if remembering the first time he held her, she wasn't even a week old. Her eyes were closed and the soft breathing that left her nose was sensed by him since he can feel the air around him. At that moment, she became his most precious child, it was if she was his own daughter.

"I never thought she'd have such a deep impact watching me walk away. I felt fear and loss when I saw her. But I wonder why? Why did she feel such fear of being abandoned?"

Raphael narrowed his eyes in confusion and worry, he looks up at his friend and sees him contemplating the reason too.

"Hedwig hinted how this might lead the corruption to take intrest on Sakura."

"!! You mean?!"

"He said her mind and emotions are weak, meaning they are in disarray. History told of how those type of people are the first ones the corruption try to control, because they are the easiest. But Hedwig clued in that her state of mind may have been caused by someone close."

"Why!!? Her highness is just a child, she did no wrong to anyone!?"

"But she is my child. And my only child. If she is gone, other people will have the chance to birth my heir. People will do anything for power and wealth. They would do anything to get rid of their obstacles." 

Mihkael said all that in a grave tone, he started to think about what Hedwig said and decided to make a meeting with all the leaders, because this isn't any person, it's his child, the heir of his empire, if his child really is being targeted before he even noticed them taking action, then he needed to solve it before they accomplished it.

If Sakura was still in this room and heard their conversation. She would be frozen in shock, because no one has ever connected her with the corruption at such a young age in any of the game routes. She changed the script too much that the future might be out of her hand now. The butterfly effect already started to act the moment she opened her eyes, and a ripple will soon turn into a hurricane.