A Real Family

Ahxue had woken up long ago but just didn't want to open her eyes. She could hear everything around her, she could feel the love of this family.

It scared her, this warmth she feared that it would be like a passing wind and before she knew it she would be abandoned or maybe even killed just like she had been in her previous life.

She could hear the hushed conversations between her new parents and the quiet footsteps of the other members entering. Everything surrounding her was happening too fast, it overwhelmed her. She was used to killing, being brutal and not having or showing any emotions. She could deal with that but this sudden warmth of family made her unable to comprehend but at the same time desire.

She'd been passed around in different embraces since she was born, some were warm and soft and she could tell they were a woman's, probably her new mother. Others were strong and stable, like the one right now. At first she just wanted to take a small peek out of curiosity, when she opened her eyes she saw a long salt and pepper beard that was neatly trimmed only a centimetre away from her mouth. It was quite funny to watch the old man who this beard belonged to, his eyes a playful mixture of novelty and excitement. Slowly but surely though Ahxue saw the change in his facial expression turn from excitement to fear and dread, that was when her gut dropped and she had been prepared for the inevitable abandonment again.

She became aware of the loud calls for the doctor and the panic that spread through the people inside the room. As she was taken into a side room for examination, she had already accepted the reality.

It's okay she told herself, she wouldn't care, it wasn't her first time anyway. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't at all disappointed at all but she was an assassin, she had learned to control and push down any emotion that would get in the way of her work.

It was everything that happened afterwards that surprised her. The words "It's fine. Even if she has to live with it forever as long as she is healthy and alive it doesn't matter. My Feng can handle any problem that comes!" made her feel a warmth she'd desired for so long.

This is what a real family felt like, these people were willing to accept her regardless of her flaws.

The childish bickering only made her feel funny. This was her family, these boys were her brothers and they wanted to protect her. This was a new concept to her, she had always done everything herself and injuries she suffered or risks would be on her shoulders and only hers.

The fact that she had silver eyes or may have similar colored hair didn't hold much importance to her, in the modern times she had met people with albinism before and the organisation itself also had a wide variety of members including albinos. It wasn't a big deal especially since this was only a side effect of medicine.

What was a big deal though was the fact that she was once again inside a body which she couldn't control. She still remembered how useless she felt when she had been a baby in her past life, she couldn't control her body at all. She had to be dependent on others for everything and had been the most vulnerable.

Even thinking about the fact that she had to experience that vulnerability again frustrated her to no end.

She stared at the face of her grandmother who was carrying her. She looked like a kind old lady with tiny wrinkles around her eyes. But she could tell through her aura that she was a strong and dignified woman who had passed through the many stages of life. Her strong demeanour was in extreme contrast with her warm eyes that were currently looking at Ahxue. Her grandma gently caressed her cheeks as she had uttered the words, "let me see who dares to bully our granddaughter. I'll be sure to set them straight if they dare." These words were said with such conviction that surprised her. She had always assumed that the ancients favoured males over females but this family truly surprised her in every way.

Waa! Waa! Damn it, she was hungry!

Her cries were out of her control and her body reacted faster than her brain could control and she began crying out of hunger.

"Lin'er, here take the child she must be hungry." The Duchess spoke to her daughter in law.

Ah xue sniffled after reaching her mothers embrace.

"Everyone go out. Let's wait in the outer hall. Go! Go!" The duchess shooed everyone out together including her new silly father.

"Lin'er you feed the baby, we'll wait outside, you finish feeding the baby. You're still in your confinement period so if you need anything let Ya'er or me know, okay?" The Duchess confirmed.

"Mhmm, mother you should go and rest with father." Lian Meilin said, cradling Ahxue gently and rocking her to stop her crying.

After everyone left, Ahxue started to feed.

Oh! The embarrassment at having to breastfeed at my age! She wanted to hide and run away but the infant's desire to eat was too strong and she couldn't let go.

She'd never breastfed in her last life. She'd been abandoned immediately after being born so she never met her mother and in the organisation she'd been bottle fed.

This world probably doesn't have baby formula so she'll probably be breastfed.

After feeding her eyelids grew heavy and she fell asleep unintentionally. It had been a long day and she was really tired but somewhere inside she was anticipating what the future would hold for her. For the first time in her life she didn't have to think about the next mission or the next kill. She could just live life.