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Sakura whined.
“If she’s the devil’s daughter,” Alaina butted in, “then we shouldn’t be playing with her. We shouldn’t be talking to her at all. She might give us the pox or something.” The pretty girl shivered and pulled a face. “Has she given you anything nasty yet, Tara?”
Tara laughed. “No, not yet. Not unless nightmares count. Mama said she cries at night and it sounds like a ghost. So we shouldn’t talk to her at all. Otherwise, she’ll give us nightmares.”
Alaina shivered and hugged Tara. “I don’t want nightmares. Go away, you devil witch. You’re a bad witch just like the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz.”
Sebastian frowned at his sister. “Don’t be silly, Alaina. She’s no witch, and she won’t give us nightmares. She’s just a little girl.”
“Oh? How do you know for sure?” Alaina remarked.
“You’re so skinny and short like a dwarf,” Hayden said. “But those dwarves in books aren’t that skinny like you.”
Sakura blushed, feeling a bit overwhelmed at being the center of attention. She could feel herself shaking from nervousness and took a few steps back to get some space.
“I think she looks like Snow White,” Darcy said. His hand reached out and stroked her hair. “Really black hair and really pale skin.”
Sakura gasped at the intimate contact and turned to look at him, her eyes shining. No one had ever stroked her hair before, and for him to do so caused her heart to flutter with joy.
Little Darcy grinned at her, his eyes sparkling as he moved his fingers to caress her face, marveling at the soft, pale skin.
Sakura shyly returned his smile, liking his warmth and his gentle, feathery touches. Her wee heart glowed, and she felt warm all over. She wondered if this was what it felt like to have a real family, to have someone love you and care for you.
Tara laughed hoarsely. “Don’t be silly, Darcy. She’s ugly and a devil’s daughter. Don’t go near her.” She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him back, away from Sakura.
Darcy glared at Tara. “Why’d you do that for?”
“Just get away from her!” Tara snapped, frowning darkly at Darcy.
Darcy scowled. “I don’t want to. I like her.”
“Darcy!” Alaina shrieked. “How could you like her? She’s the devil’s daughter!”
“She’s not the devil’s daughter!” Darcy replied firmly, taking Sakura by the hand.
Tara looked as though she was about to scream her head off but held herself in check before she embarrassed herself in front of the Princeton siblings.
“What’s your name?” Nicolas asked.
Sakura was so conscious of Darcy’s warm hand clasping around hers that she didn’t hear Nicolas. When he patiently asked her again, she glanced up, licked her lips nervously, and said, “Sakura.”
“Sa… What?” Hayden asked.
“Sa-ku-ra,” Sakura said again.
“What does it mean?” Tristan butted in, his head cocked to one side.
Sakura shrugged her small shoulders and lowered her head to avoid their gazes. She felt rather ashamed that she didn’t know what her name meant, but she was determined to find out once she got back to the orphanage.
“That name is too hard to pronounce,” Logan said to himself. “Why don’t we give you another name? A nickname?”
Sakura glanced up, her heart pounding with delight. Oh God, she thought. They are giving me a nickname. Does that mean they’re my friends?
“Why would you give her a nickname?” Tara asked in annoyance.
“Yeah! Why?” Alaina shouted at her brother.
“I want a nickname, too,” Tara demanded, furrowing her pretty brows.
“Your name is easy to pronounce,” Sebastian said. “And it’s kind of short already.”
“How about Sarah?” Nicolas suggested. “It’s a popular name, and it means princess.”
Tara butted in instantly. “But she’s not a princess. She doesn’t even look like a princess. She’s a devil’s daughter.”
“She looks like Snow White to me,” Darcy said again, smiling at Sakura. “We can call her Snow or something.”
“What? Just because she has black hair and pale skin?” Tara muttered unhappily. “She’s plain and ugly like Mommy said. So we should give her a plain and ugly name.”
“Yes, we should do that,” Alaina said, nodding her head furiously.
“What about Sally?” Sebastian suggested. “It sounds pretty close to Sa-ku… Sa-ku-ra.”
“Yes, Sally sounds about right,” Tara said, nodding her head. “She is silly, after all, and it rhymes, I think. Sakura is a silly girl. Sally and silly.” She laughed loudly. “Silly Sally.”
And so Sakura had a nickname that she herself did not have a vote in, and soon the children returned to their play and forgot all about her.
Every night after that day, Sakura prayed the Princetons would adopt her into their family. Then one day her dream came true in the most bizarre way.
The orphanage was on fire and the whole building burned down, killing Mrs. Byrd, though all of the children and staff escaped. After some hard and fast investigation by the police, it was found that Mrs. Byrd had been smoking in the kitchen while the gas was still on, thus leading to an explosion.
However, a rumor was spread that Sakura was actually responsible for starting the fire by leaving the oven gas turned on. Though she had done no such thing, she could not rebuke the claim that Tara and her friends made as witnesses to the whole ordeal. Soon Sakura found herself hated by everyone who knew her, and she lost all hope of an adoption.
One week after the incident, James Princeton walked in, claiming that such a nice young girl couldn’t have done such a terrible thing, and since she had nowhere to go and no one would take her, he and his wife would adopt her.
Sakura was so relieved and happy over this man’s kindness that, for the first time in her seven years, she cried in front of everyone. James wiped away her tears, told her everything would be all right, lifted her into his arms, and took her home to his family.
