Title: Tsuisuto Kotoba (Twisted Words)
Fandom: Tsubasa Chronicle
Characters: Fai, Chi, Ashura, Yuuko, Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane
Pairings: Fai X Chi/OC (Chi looks like Chi but is just like any other OC)
Rating: T (rating may go up)
Summary: Some secrets are best kept hidden. Pasts, forgotten; something Fai wished and hoped for when he met her. But how could he have known that she was the past he feared? If she had known, she couldn't tell him; after all, words are complicated and twisted.
Warnings: AU, gore and incest (If they were following the CLAMP story line, it wouldn't be considered incest). Stories are prone to editing and re editing.
By: Crimson Essence
Prologue: Realm of chaos
Screams of absolute terror echoed throughout the hallways only to be silenced by a singular, bloodied blade. The halls were decked with disemboweled limbs and carcasses that sported multiple lacerations on their bodies. Even the palace guards had been brutally maimed in all sorts of fashions. Slowly but surely, those who had lived in the castle were being cut down one after another. Those who attempted to defend themselves were slaughtered mercilessly while those who cowered in their rooms were found and butchered all the same. The kingdom had fallen into a state of uncontrollable chaos ever since its king begun senselessly killing off his people. No one was spared, not the women or the smallest of infants. Those who ran were charged with treason and were put to death on the spot. An empire consumed by power and madness of its king, who lacked the support of his people, was sure to fall someday or other. And it seemed that that day was today. It was the end of a nation.
A woman, no, the queen of this accursed country –that had been caught in the midst of the insanity—was now sprawled on the ground, bleeding profusely from several gashes that marked her porcelain skin. Her golden tresses that ran down her shoulders in waves were tangled in her cracked coronet and stained red. Although mortally wounded and beginning to fade, the noble was still conscious. She knew that death would soon be her fate, but she couldn't die. Not yet anyway. She still had a task to complete and her will ran strong within her.
So, forcing her body forward as she gasped for air, the female crawled towards the blood soaked wardrobe that sat in the far corner of the room. After taking slow and agonizing lunges, she dragged herself forward using only her wounded arms –since the tendons in her legs had been severed—creating a trail of blood in her wake. Finally, she reached the closet. With a trembling hand, pulled open the wooden doors to reveal a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes fit for royalty, lying in the darkness.
The queen let a smile of relief cross her weary face as she caressed the child's golden locks; watching as the infant's clear blue eyes gazed up at her in wonder. The woman's little cherub, so young and innocent; completely unaware that this world was slowly caving in on itself. Kissing the toddler's forehead, she let a single tear cascade down the side of her pale cheek as she withdrew her hand from the child's face. With a trembling finger, she began to trace magic symbols around the child; a spell that could send a single person to another dimension. The all powerful witch's dimension was what the queen had in mind. Truthfully, if she could, the noble would've sent her child to a different world by herself, but the randomness of timelines and the transactions made between worlds were too big of a risk. If she were to attempt sending her child off to an unknown destination other than the witch's, the child may end up in a land worse off than this. She couldn't risk that.
Using her other hand, the blonde opened a mirror into another dimension. As expected, the woman on the other side was ready to answer her customer's call. Her long, straight hair, the color of a raven's feathers, draped over her shoulders before resting against her bare arms like silk. The woman's way of dress was rather provocative and strange to the queen, seeing as how her black, low-cut, figure hugging dress was with slits on each side which reached up to her thighs. Unlike the snow which the queen had been so used to, it seemed that the other world's climate was much humid –something that she was unaccustomed to. This woman was heavily adorned with gem studded trinkets which had been so carefully weaved into her hair, with colors ranging from the lightest to the darkest of greens and blues. Her piercings were long and circular shaped, seeming quite heavy since it too was filled with precious stones of many shapes and sizes. Moreover, the witch wore several golden bangles which created a soft chime as she brushed away several lose strands of hair with an impatient hand.
This was the woman that the queen had met many times in the world of dreams. And she was the only one who could save her child.
"Yuuko-san, please, send my child to that world."
"The price?"
Although the queen was nearing death, the witch had to follow protocol. Even with the power to transcend space and time itself, the raven haired woman was unable to help those she cared for without compensation first. She knew of past events and of the future, yet was unable to tell another soul; a painful price that she herself had to pay on a daily basis. Knowing this, the blond merely nodded her head. Raising a shaky hand, she began to extract the essence of magic from her eyes, causing the light blue in her pupils to darken into a creamy, golden brown. Outstretching her hand, the blond let the sapphire shard of immense power float in the center of her palm; signaling for the witch to take it.
"Are you certain of this? With the power that you have, you may be able to save yourself," the witch said, obviously giving the ruler a chance to change her mind.
The noble merely shook her head, smiling weakly as she spoke, "I am a mother before I am a woman. My child's safety is much more important than my own."
Seeing the resolution in the queen's eyes, the witch bowed her head once as she parted her lips, "very well."
Within seconds, the shard disappeared in a flash of white light before appearing in the hands of the witch. She held the hardened magic between her slender fingers for a moment before placing it into a crystal clear vial, speaking in an apathetic tone, "Send the child."
The mother beheld her child for the last time with tear filled eyes, her heart aching with the weight of grief and love. Her baby, her bundle of joy was going to embark on a journey which she couldn't follow. Her child would face countless dangers without her guidance or reassurance. So, all she could wish was for her babe's happiness. Unable to hold her tears back any longer, the queen's composed demeanor shattered as she choked out a last goodbye to her little angel –who was then enveloped in a ray of colors and sent to another dimension. Hopefully, it was a dimension where she would be safe for as long as fate would allow.
The child was gone, her vision, fading and yet the witch's remained in the mirror. Was she keeping the queen company in the last moments of her life? She wasn't sure, but that uncertainty didn't stop the blond haired woman from speaking.
"The basis on why I sent my child wasn't exclusively out of love... but also it was a dismal endeavor to atone for my sins..."
The woman paused for a moment to cough up some blood, staining her traditional light blue garments a sickening shade of crimson. But that didn't matter anymore there was no one alive to watch her pathetic state –other than a woman who was several thousand dimensions away. Propping herself up and leaning her back against the cupboard door, her majesty shut her eyes before continuing on. A weak smiled filled with bitterness and self-hate curved onto her lips.
"Though it in itself is rather sad... turning fate's hand in order for my child to save the life of another... Selfish. I don't deserve to be called her mother..."
The witch didn't speak or even attempt to correct the woman by telling her that it was fate that led her to this decision, and that it was fate that would continue to carve a path for the child. Instead, the raven haired sorceress remained silent, listening to the woman's last words. Even though the witch gave off the impression of cold and unfeeling, if one were to look closer, one would notice the small, cheerless frown and eyes filled with sympathy for the dying woman. Yet, all she could do was watch. The woman was no longer a queen; she no longer had a kingdom to rule over or a king to serve. She was last survivor in the land. And soon, she would be the last casualty of insanity.
The blonde's mind was beginning to numb and her senses, dulling. Her tense muscles began to relax for she could no longer feel the searing pain from her open wounds. Her eyelids felt heavy and her limbs were near immovable; the feeling reminded her of how she used to pass out on her bed, exhausted, after a long day's work of signing papers and attending social parties. Her legs were limp as well as her arms; her body, thin and fragile due to the loss of blood. When a white fog descended, clouding her mind, she knew that death was calling and felt a chill run down her spine. Although there was no wind, she felt a cool breeze sweep over her body. Her time was limited to mere minutes, no, maybe just seconds. So, with her last breath, she whispered her only regret, one that she would carry on till the other side of the veil.
"I just wish... I could have saved... my two boys..."
Then, she knew death.
A/N: This story came about mainly because I really disliked my 'Eternal Snow, Eternal Damnation' story since it gave absolutely no justice to Chi and Fai's relationship. And so, this story is a completely different.