Not My Sins

CHAPTER ONE:

 "Where are we going, mommy?" Rain asked innocently as she held even more tightly to her mother's hands, both of their boots soaked from the rain that had previously stopped. "Mommy?"

"Fine, you asked for it." Her mother, Weather muttered incoherently, Rain couldn't even hear her properly. "Rain, to be honest, my decision to keep you seven years ago was a mistake. I honestly had thought it wouldn't hurt to raise one child and look how wrong I was."

She grumbled under her breath, but Rain still didn't understand what she meant by that.

"So, I have decided to take you back to where you belong." A cold gush of wind hit them, and Rain shivered slightly. "To your father."

"My father?" She asked inaudibly, why was she taking me to him all of a sudden? Weather hated to speak about Rain's father, even when the girl asked politely, but today out of the blue she was going to him.

Why? 

Little did she know...

 She should have said no,

She should have refused to go, and if she had known she should have begged her mother to turn back and to take her along.

But what can she do? Her mother was tired of her as well, it wasn't as though she didn't try to beg.

It all fell on deaf ears.

 Rain figured out her father was a wealthy and powerful individual, he had a lot of underlings that he controlled in his estates. She figured his identity to be the Duke of the estate, and she was wowed from the minute they stepped into the lands, the guards denied their entry at first but then Mother just had to mention one name and then they let her in.

"Why have you come back after so many years, Weather?" The powerful man asked, his frame towering over them, mother didn't have to tell Rain before she knew he was her father. They had a striking resemblance in their physical attributes, they had the same red hair and green eyes. "Didn't you run away saying you didn't need anything from me?"

 Mother stood there indifferently like nothing serious was going on, she seemed unfazed, fearfully, Rain gripped the ends of her coat after she felt the tension, even though it was wet, hiding behind her mother gave her a sense of security.

"Don't get too full of yourself, Elias." She declared with an angry look on her face. "I didn't come here to beg you for anything."

"What the hell is going on here?" Another woman barked from the top of the magnificent stairs, and Rain's eyes trailed to reach the image of the beautiful woman who approached them.

 She had white angelic hair cascading down her shoulders and it stopped at her mid-back, the woman's eyes were a light shade of purple, they twinkled like they had stars in them.

 She looked just like the moon goddess, Diana. Rain's eyes widened in awe because she had never seen such a beautiful woman before.

"Elias, answer me." She instructed again, and from the way she spoke, Rain could tell she held a position of authority in the household, who was she? Her father's mother? No, she is too young to be his mother. "Who is that woman? And what is she doing here?"

Even though the angelic woman sounded calm, her facial expression said otherwise, she held her hands towards the servant and they helped her climb down the stairs.

"My name is Weather, and I am nothing but a street prostitute." Rain's mother introduced herself, a bit arrogantly, to Rain it sounded as if she was mocking them. "And I have brought with me today, Duke Elias' daughter with me."

"What?" They both chorused, suddenly their eyes shooting at poor Rain who shivered slightly, it seemed like she was ignored until Weather mentioned her.

"Elias, you had a child with a whore?" She sounded offended. "There were more than a thousand noble ladies, you could commit your treacherous act of infidelity with but you chose to sleep with a harlot? How far would you go to mock the name of Elderslot?"

"She was a woman I had a fling with while I was on my journey to Naisist, I had no idea she had a child for me." Suddenly his green eyes shot back in Rain's direction. "How do I know that she is even my child?"

"Are you serious?" The white-haired woman asked again. "The bastard is the splitting resemblance of you, how can you ask something like that?"

"Be rest assured, I didn't come here to cause you a problem, Duchess of Elderslot." My mother suddenly spoke, trembling slightly, Rain took a few steps backward, she didn't know anything about manners and composure, but she knew if two nobles were speaking, a low class like themselves shouldn't speak unless they were spoken to.

For this woman to be the Duchess of Elderslot, she must be her father's wife, it isn't good if her mother kept taunting a woman of such authority. 

"I don't want anything that belongs to the Duke, all I want is for him to take back his daughter, after all, she deserves a bit of her father's wealth and protection."

"You would be greatly mistaken if you think I would ever allow a bastard in my duchy." The duchess snarled and Weather giggled.

"Just as you have said, the Duke has a lot of things at stake including his reputation, laying with a woman of such lowly class," she proceeded. "It would have been better if it were to be a handmaiden, rather than a harlot."

A great silence descended upon them, and Rain simply stood there with her heart in her mouth, She was maddened by the pressure, she hadn't seen her mother like this, it was almost as though a completely different person stood before her.

"I have nothing to lose." she reminded them. 

"If you don't want anything, then why come now with a child behind you?" The Duke snapped, his voice causing a trembling within the walls of the place. "Why did you come now to stir up my family this way, you disgraceful wench?"

"Because I could no longer provide for her," she responded. "The more she grows the more she resembles her scum of a father, and so I became afraid, what if she does something to me? I am very aware of the dirty blood that runs in her veins."

 In disbelief, Rain raised her head to look at her mother, she didn't believe the words that came out of her mouth. She had always known that her mother hated her.

She used to be so kind when she was a baby, but the more Rain grew the more she drifted away.

 Rain realized the reason for her mother's negligence and hatred was because of her father, the look in her eyes says so.

 The end of the duke's lips curved in a satisfied smirk,

"Child, raise your head." He ordered, there was so much authority in his voice that Rain raised her head towards him, his green eyes probed her face and another smirk reached his lips.

"What's your name, Child?" He asked curiously again and she glanced up at her mother, seeking her permission, but instead of shielding her, Weather grabbed Rain's arm and flung her away.

"I hope you can speak." The Duke's voice came back. 

Rain nodded her head.

"Then answer me," He ordered again, his voice harder than before.

"R-Rain," She squeaked and another laugh escaped him. "My name is Rain." 

"The name is so unbefitting, very well then," he answered. "I have decided that I would keep her."

"Mom," Unsatisfied with the verdict, she whispered back to Weather, Rain's voice shaking. "L-Let's go home, p-please."

A frown crossed Weather's face, it was the same scorned look that she always wore to show Rain that she was tired of her.

"I'm scared." Rain muttered as she grabbed the end of her mother's coat again, Weather pushed Rain away and she fell to the floor, it was an abuse that she was familiar with but she loved it and she would rather get used to it than to get abandoned this way. "Mom, please."

"Rain, just let go of my clothes, I'm finally able to get rid of you, don't try to cling to me any further." She yelled pushing her further away, relentlessly, Rain got up again and ran towards her, clinging to her legs this time. "For my sake, please let me go!" 

 A sharp slap across her face brought Rain back to the harsh reality in front of her, she should have known, that Weather would never love me, and there was nothing she could do to make her love her, but Rain felt she wanted to try.

"Mom please don't leave me here," she begged and cried, still gripping her legs tightly. "Please take me with you, I won't complain if I am hungry and I won't cry, I promise I am going to be a good girl, please don't leave me here."

Despite all Rain did to beg and plead, Weather had made up her mind, she wanted Rain out of her life for good.

"Rain…" The Duke walked towards the crying girl, his boots clicking against the marble floor of the mansion. "As a member of the prominent Elderslot Estate and the daughter of Duke Elias Roni, I would never allow a child of mine to cry over a harlot, legitimate or not."

"Uh…" She gasped when he got in front of her, glaring down at her.

"Rise to your feet child." He snapped. "It seems you have a lot of things to learn, dear child."