Aemilia’s Place, Cannes France:
Akari sits up suddenly in bed as she wakes up. The room she was in was unfamiliar to her, along with the dark color silk nightgown she was wearing. She looks around the bedroom trying to figure out how she got here and why she felt bad. She starts coughing as her lungs try to clear themselves out.

The door to the bedroom opens and an older French looking woman comes into the room dressed in night clothes. She held a tray in her hands with a pitcher and cup on it. She sets the tray down on the night stand next to the bed and pours some liquid form the pitcher into the brown cup.

“Drink.” Sophie came as soon as she heard the teenage girl starting to cough.

She had used a baby monitor that Aemilia had suggested. It was disguised as the lamp sitting on the nightstand. That way Sophie could monitor the teenager Aemilia had rescued from the ocean.

Sophie does as she is order to do and drink the liquid in the tan cup. It tasted nasty, but after a few seconds she could feel the effects of it. Her lungs and throat felt better and she could breathe again.

Akari looks at the older woman, “what was that?”

“Old family recipe to help you recover. Now, lay back and rest. You are still not feeling healthy.” Sophie had placed her hand on the young woman’s forehead and felt how hot the girl was.

Akari does as the old woman tells her. She felt to weak to protest and her body was so sore. Every muscle felt like jelly and so weak.

Sophie felt how hot the teenager was and left the room. A few minutes later she returns with a cold cloth and some aspirins. She places the cold cloth on the girl’s forehead and gives her the aspirins to take.

Akari takes the aspirins and drinks some more of the liquid the older woman had given her beforehand. She watches as the woman tucks her into bed. In no time Akari was off to la, la land.

Aemilia was waiting out in the hallway when Sophie comes out of the young woman’s room. She looks at Sophie “how is she?”

“She’s got a slight fever and some congestion in her lungs. She’ll need a few days of bed rest, Ms. Aemilia. Do you know how long she had been
out in the ocean?” Sophie knew Ms. Aemilia had been out sailing when she found the girl twenty miles off shore cling to a deflated life boat.

“From the sunburn she had, it had to have happen during the storm a few days ago.” A bad thunderstorm had blown through at the beginning of the week. It had been so bad, Aemilia had to hire some handy men to come in and make repairs to the roof of the old barn that had been converted.

“Alright, I’ll see if I can learn who she is.” Aemilia had already taken her picture, her prints, and swabbed the inside of her mouth to get a DNA sample.

She sent everything to her Aunt Charlotte to process. The facial recognition program hadn’t come back with anything on her, which meant she wasn’t a spy or a crook. That still didn’t mean anything. The DNA was still being process, and Zoey hadn’t had any bad feelings about the girl.

The next time Akari wakes up there was sunshine shining through a large bay window in the room. The room itself smelled like lavender and there were fresh flowers in a crystal vase sitting next to her bed. Her chest felt a little better and she could breathe better.

Sitting next to the bed she was laying on, was a younger woman wearing a light color dress. She had shoulder length dark brown hair and violet eyes. Her makeup was perfect “sleeping beauty awakes. How are you feeling?” Aemilia had spoken in French to the young woman she found was named Akari Marie Laurent.

Akari’s mother was Japanese and her father was French. The boat they had been on had sunk with all hands. They had been fishermen.

“Still weak, where are my parents?” Akari was curious why she was here without her parents.

Aemilia places her hand on Akari’s hand “they and the crew of the fishing boat you were on didn’t make it. It seems that you’re the only survivor.”

Tears start to form in Akari’s eyes as she starts crying. Akari feels Aemilia wrap her arms around her and hold her. She tries to comfort Akari as she holds her. Aemilia just found out that the boat Akari’s parents were on hadn’t survived the storm.

The French Coastguard had found debris floating out on the water. As for Akari herself, the DNA had come back from MI6 and showed that Akari was part French and part Japanese. Her mother side of the family didn’t have any relatives here in Europe, but back in Japan. As for her father, he had a bunch of family her in France, but it would be up to Akari if she wanted to live with them.

According to what research she had done on them. The other relatives were barely getting by themselves. They were having a difficult time with their crops and were mortgaged to the hilt. The house they are living in was going to need major repairs.

Akari cries herself to sleep. Aemilia lays Akari back down on the bed and tuck her in. She feels sorry for the teenage girl. She had to call Little Joe and reschedule her visit. She explained everything to him and told him that as soon as she got everything straightened out with the young girl she saved, she’ll come and visit.

It takes Aemilia a few weeks to get everything with Akari straightened out. She ends up becoming Akari’s legal guardian. Which she doesn’t mind, but at the same time, she was still getting uses to being a woman. All her training did nothing to prepare her for this.

She had informed her aunt Charlotte about her decision, and was told it won’t be easy, but if she had any problems, she could call her. Getting all of Akari’s paperwork was a headache, but she was uses to dealing with government officials. She managed to get everything done, including getting Akari a passport.

While she handled all the paperwork, Sophie took Akari shopping. Akari had lost everything she owned when the boat went down. She had lived on the fishing boat with her family.

Once everything was legal with Akari, she contacted Little Joe and informed him about everything. He wanted to meet Akari and Sophie. He just hopes they didn’t mind being around a bunch of cowboys.

Aemilia arranges for Akari and Sophie to travel with her. She also arranges for Akari to attend a private school when school starts. Aemilia finds out that Akari was taught on the fishing boat by her parents. The government had allowed it, so Akari would have to take a placement test in order to be placed in the proper grade.

Once all of that was taken care of, Aemilia prepares to travel to the United States with Sophie and Akari.