Prompt 350- Pre-Canon: "May Mei"
Title: May Mei
Author: Sonja Jade
Series: Brotherhood
Word Count: 250
Rating: PG
Characters: Mei chang, her mother and grandmother, the Emperor of Xing
Summary: Why couldn't the baby be a boy?
Warnings: Mentions of thoughts of infanticide
Author's Noted: These particulars are part of my Celestial Ciphers universe but you don't need to read that in order to get this. (In that series, Mei is born in May, I don't think we really know when her real birthday is anyhow.)
Prompt: Pre-Canon
The baby in Chang Niao's arms wailed, face red and her tiny fists balled up and flailing in anger. Niao couldn't care less.
Here she was, thirteen years old, her body warped from motherhood and exhausted from labor, and still in shock that she'd borne a daughter instead of a son. A daughter- who would have to fight her siblings someday for the throne of Xing. A daughter- who would become a courtesan and shoved into bearing some nobleman's child if she survived the Emperor's Challenge. A daughter- who was worth one tenth of a son.
She thought bitterly as the baby cried that if she starved to death, maybe the Emperor would come sire another child, and that child would be a son. A boy would be worth so much more than a useless daughter…
“Niao!” her mother gasped, coming to her bedside and gathering the baby to her breast, feeding her from her own bosom. Her mother slapped her cheek awkwardly. “What's gotten into you?”
“It's a girl,” she deadpanned. “Worthless.”
“And so are you, for letting her cry like that over something she can't help!”
Niao looked away from them, listening as her mother named the baby Mei and nursed her til she fell asleep. Afterward, Niao was taken outside and beaten with a strap.
When the Emperor came to visit, he was beyond pleased. He even held her for a few moments and kissed her chubby cheeks. After that, Niao had no trouble feeding her daughter.
Author: Sonja Jade
Series: Brotherhood
Word Count: 250
Rating: PG
Characters: Mei chang, her mother and grandmother, the Emperor of Xing
Summary: Why couldn't the baby be a boy?
Warnings: Mentions of thoughts of infanticide
Author's Noted: These particulars are part of my Celestial Ciphers universe but you don't need to read that in order to get this. (In that series, Mei is born in May, I don't think we really know when her real birthday is anyhow.)
Prompt: Pre-Canon
The baby in Chang Niao's arms wailed, face red and her tiny fists balled up and flailing in anger. Niao couldn't care less.
Here she was, thirteen years old, her body warped from motherhood and exhausted from labor, and still in shock that she'd borne a daughter instead of a son. A daughter- who would have to fight her siblings someday for the throne of Xing. A daughter- who would become a courtesan and shoved into bearing some nobleman's child if she survived the Emperor's Challenge. A daughter- who was worth one tenth of a son.
She thought bitterly as the baby cried that if she starved to death, maybe the Emperor would come sire another child, and that child would be a son. A boy would be worth so much more than a useless daughter…
“Niao!” her mother gasped, coming to her bedside and gathering the baby to her breast, feeding her from her own bosom. Her mother slapped her cheek awkwardly. “What's gotten into you?”
“It's a girl,” she deadpanned. “Worthless.”
“And so are you, for letting her cry like that over something she can't help!”
Niao looked away from them, listening as her mother named the baby Mei and nursed her til she fell asleep. Afterward, Niao was taken outside and beaten with a strap.
When the Emperor came to visit, he was beyond pleased. He even held her for a few moments and kissed her chubby cheeks. After that, Niao had no trouble feeding her daughter.