Title: 'Pink & Green: A Fairy Tale' REVISED 2009.02
Author: MissYamapiKara
Type: One-shot
Base: 'Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE' by CLAMP
Pairing: Sakura x Syaoran
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Warnings: Heterosexual pairing; near-death via fish
Rating: K+
Soundtrack: Various- Celtic Women
Summary: When you feel small and think the world is just too big, you really ought to consider the fairies. You know you're special when you constitute potential fish food.
So Basically: Sakura and Syaoran live different lives in the land of Loberry – the kingdom of the fairies. This fairytale shows that their connection in any world is strong, and teaches that even though someone might feel small in comparison to things around them, everyone is capable of great things.
Author's Note: I wrote this story for a friend of mine, who is always nice to me and is also very generous towards me. Thankyou for all you do for me, Karl! And thankyou also for agreeing to let me post 'Pink & Green'. :D To the readers: All you need to know before you read is that one 'turn' is equal to one year as we know it; therefore, eighteen turns is the same as eighteen years.
Disclaimer: I (as the author of this piece of writing, 'Pink & Green: A Fairy Tale') do not claim ownership over the manga, anime or other variations of what I know as ' Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE'.
I appreciate the lenience of CLAMP and all those concerned with 'Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle' to not take any legal actions against myself, as I have not purposely intended to offend them, nor have I intended to steal their material, earnings or imagination. I am gaining no profit from this piece other than my own enjoyment and perhaps expressed delight or amusement from unfamiliar readers.
All material other than the characters of 'Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE' is claimed as the sole property of myself.
Heads Up: If necessary, action will be taken to protect my own writing as I am proud of it and hold it very dear to myself. It would be greatly appreciated if fellow avid-writers, all readers or general persons would respect the content of this document and not copy it without permission from myself, the author. If it is desired by anyone to use any part of the text on the page, large or small, I would bid him or her to contact me and it shall be discussed.
I believe it is one of the greatest things in this world to be able to create things from your own mind, heart, soul and fabric. Be proud of your own creations – they could only ever come from you.
MissYamapiKara
This story is dedicated to Karl.
Proceeding...
Pink & Green
: A Fairy Tale
-
When you feel small and think the world is just too big, you really ought to consider the fairies.
The smallness of themselves has never dampened their passion for grandeur.
In the land of Loberry, which may be in your backyard, the fairies live their quite normal lives. They have houses and dirt roads, markets and parks; their gardens are beauteous beyond compare. There are bakers, smiths, florists and grocers, who work together to keep their land healthy. Among the professions are many arts, such as writing, painting and sculpting. The art of most concern to us is that of beading, for it is a beader named Syaoran who the princess met on that day.
Our splendid princess, Princess Sakura, with golden-brown hair and leaf-green eyes. She brought buds to bloom with a touch and harboured the light of the sun within her smile. Newly eighteen turns, she had grown into a wondrous creature. With shining pink wings the hues of a vibrant summer sunset, she was the object of many affections. Each suitor was turned away, however, and she resumed dreaming by her bedroom window.
While Princess Sakura remained in the royal castle, humble beader Syaoran worked in his beadery. As humble men go, Syaoran was modest about his accomplishments; he had his own house and shop but did not flaunt his earnings.
On hot days he would avoid the kiln, opting to sit in the outside stall while threading glass and enjoying the breeze. He would push his chestnut brown fringe from his forehead and sigh, "My beads can never be as beautiful as her eyes."
His skills were the best in the fairy kingdom of Loberry – he could create any shape, colour and pattern in wooden, metal and glass beads – but never had he seen a prettier shine than that in the eyes of a girl he once knew.
When he was a child of only seven turns, not yet even into his wings, Syaoran frequented the Trindle River that bordered Loberry Forest, which is of course a trickling stream beyond a herb garden to you and me. Sitting on the banks one day, collecting ashen grey pebbles, he met a girl who squeaked when she tripped out of the bushes.
She had apologised for intruding on him.
He had answered, "Not at all."
Every day for twelve days thereafter, Syaoran met the girl at the river. On the twelfth day, he gave her an anklet: his finest beads of jade and star rose quartz strung along a thread of gold. On the thirteenth day, she did not come, and never again after that. Enchanted, Syaoran was afraid that it had all been a dream and that he really ought to forget the little fairy. But he could not.
Eighteen turns had come and gone, and with strong wings of deep, gleaming green, Syaoran had many admirers whom were unfortunately all unappealing to him; not one compared to his riverside nymph. And so, he sat and he sighed and he dreamed of the day he would meet the girl again.
Sakura knew that pouting did not suit a princess very well, that it made her seem single-minded and childish, not at all what a good princess should be, but she could not help it. Though she appreciated her brother's efforts, she would not accept any one of the suitors he introduced to her. Apparently, saying the same thing to King Touya one hundred times did no better than saying it just the once. Sakura could attest to that.
Glancing at the jewellery around her ankle, Sakura sighed and remembered her first friend.
"Bother." Again, the princess frowned and stared out her window into the sky of a starry night, "I wish I could get out of the castle. It would make me very happy, to see that boy again." She smiled sadly as she spoke to the stars, "Touya-niisama will be mad, but I need to go." Sakura pulled her skirt up from the floor and made her way to the grand staircase.
At that time of night, no one would be about, so she need not worry to be caught. All the same, she was cautious. Taking a dark sheet from a hall closet as she passed, she was sure it would be a suitable disguise. She was mindful of her long clothes as she climbed out of the front room window and landed in a shadow outside. Thankful of the absence of need for high security, Sakura gazed carefully at her last obstacle. The creature-guard of the outer gate was a good friend of hers, though it surely would not allow her to pass at this time of night.
The princess was glad to see that Mokona had fallen asleep at his post.
As she tiptoed past him he snoozed, "Then Kuro-pii pulled my ears really, really hard!" He flopped over onto his stomach and whined.
Sakura giggled. Quietly, she slipped through the gate and hurried down the hill to the town. From the days when she was able to visit the town freely, Sakura well remembered the way to the river. She ran with quick steps and held fast to the sheet wrapped around her wings. Cloaked with her face hidden and a limited view, she did not see the figure that stepped from the shadows and begun to follow her.
Panting from the run, Sakura reached the river and let out a long breath, holding her hand to her heart and closing her eyes. She gasped as she opened them and saw what was before her: the river reflected the image of the sky above perfectly, every silver light in place on the dark blue background. It was magical, just like in her memories. She noticed that the air was scented with the perfume of wild flowers. Smiling as she walked towards the bank, Sakura slid out of her slippers and sat down. The water was cool around her feet. She picked up a nearby stick and drew patterns in the surface. It parted in small shining waves. It was incredible how peaceful she felt being in that place and playing her favourite memories over in her mind. Her anklet sparkled, catching the light of the full moon, as she gently moved her toes around and stirred up short waves.
There was a ripple in the water some way away from her. Sakura slowed her movements and looked out at the river but did not see something there. Instead, the thin mist that surrounded her began to gain her attention. Her feet stopped their swaying when she stared into the hanging grey, thinking she had seen something move, "That's..."
A surprised scream sprang from her mouth as something closed around her foot and dragged her into the river.
Water rushed into her mouth when she tried to scream again and she coughed. For a moment, she was above water, thrashing her arms and trying to grasp the bank, but it was just out of reach. She was dragged under again. Knowing the breath she had taken would not last her long, Sakura opened her eyes and peered at the blurry image of her attacker.
It was a fish.
A large, grey-scaled fish with round black eyes and fanning fins of red veins. These fish were notorious for picking fairies who flew over the Trindle River out of the air. Sakura panicked. She swung her arms and legs, managing to break the surface one more time before being tugged sharply back down. She gurgled and spat into the water around her, 'This can't happen!' Her thoughts became frantic.
In a moment of clarity, Sakura realised that she still held the stick in her hand. Feeling that it was thick, she decided it had to be strong enough to help her.
She was losing air.
With a desperate swing, she plunged the stick into the mouth of the fish right beside her leg. She pushed one end down, causing the other to pitch upwards like a lever and scratch the fish's mouth.
It let go.
Sakura let the stick float away from her. She used the last of her strength to rise to the surface. The fish swam away in search of an easier target.
Gasping for air and from the pain of her bruised leg, Sakura tried to keep her head above the water. She could not swim to the bank. She tried her wings but they were far too wet, even weighing her down as if she wore lead on her back. She could not get herself out of the river. It was past midnight and she was on the outer limit of the town – no one would hear her if she called for help. Water slowly filled her throat and she knew she could do nothing. All she could think was that she would drown without having seen that boy again.
Without knowing his name.
Her head went under and everything was cold. It felt like ice needles were pricking deep into her skin. Suddenly, a shot ran through her as warmth hit her wrist. It spread over her arm and ran along her shoulder, to her neck and from her spine branched out to every point of her tingling body.
She was free of her icy grave.
Someone had rescued her, but in such a way that she had flown out of the water and both bodies had crashed onto the bank. Sakura tried to move off of her saviour, who had also braced her fall, but found it was all she could do to open her tired eyes.
Above her bent the broken end of a stalk of springy grass. She blinked rapidly as she realised what had happened: the one who had saved her had somehow grabbed hold of the end of the stalk and thrown him or herself into the water. There was only a split second in which the person could have caught hold of Sakura's wrist before the grass reached its limit and bounced back. It was a kind of grass she remembered playing with when she was young. She found the elastic saplings fantastic fun to hang from and bound up and down.
She felt something under her shift and she was led to lay on her back. Her hazy mind was surely beginning to play tricks on her eyes as, for a moment, she saw the memory happening in front of her – she saw the boy who had always made sure she would not fall from the grass, and he was leaning over her.
"Are you all right?" The lips of the face moved and Sakura heard a voice. The distinctly male tone sounded again, "Please! Talk to me. Can you hear me?"
Sakura did her best to sit up and the young man hurried to help. She gave herself a moment to gather her wits before looking up into the face of her rescuer. Her breath caught in her throat, 'It's him!' She felt her heart had stopped.
"Are you hurt?" He asked again and made to inspect the bruise on her leg. He was soaked through, just as Sakura was, and water dripped from his arm onto her leg.
She shook her head shakily, "Fine."
Brown eyes looked up to meet with green as the boy reacted to the sweetly feminine sound. He smiled, "It is you. Thank goodness you're safe!" He pulled Sakura to him and embraced her warmly.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, ignoring the glad tears that had begun to slide down her cheeks, "You saved me. Thankyou."
The boy pulled away, "Do you remember me?" His voice was tinted with hope.
Tears clung to her eyelashes and began to fall faster from her eyes; her voice was a weak rasp as she spoke, "I wanted so much to know your name."
Relief flooded the eyes of the young man and he softly caught the tears on her cheek with a thumb, "My name is Syaoran." He smiled at her affectionately.
Her gulping sniffles allowed her a quiet reply, "My name is Sakura."
Syaoran held Sakura once more, keeping her as close to him as possible, and vowed never to let go of her again.
It was a wedding to be remembered, as fairies do not let their smallness lessen their passion for grandeur.
It was indeed a great celebration, with white blossoms strewn about and golden bells clinking in the trees. The chiming and plucking of silver and wooden instruments set a festive beat. Music rode the wind, bringing a message of rejoice to all parts of the kingdom. Fairies danced and twirled and sang, raising their glasses of nectar to the newly-wed couple. The sun shone brightly and the breeze was warm; there was never a better day.
Not too far away from the centre of it all, a couple of fairies sat together on a mushroom cap. The Captain of the Guards bopped his subordinate on the head, "Oi, that's my food. Go get your own."
The creature-guard cried out and hid behind the other fairy, "Wai! Mokona is scared!"
The Mage smiled his perpetually cheerful smile, "Yes, Kuro-wan-wan is too manly. It would do him better to be kinder."
"I am not 'Kuro-wan-wan'!" The Captain, Kurogane, made a grab for the Mage, "Fai!!" He growled as the other deftly slipped from the mushroom.
Fai landed in front of two other people, "Oh my, company." Fai smiled, genuinely happy to see the two before him.
Kurogane, who had jumped from the mushroom and pursued a squealing Mokona, now held the ears of the creature in one hand. He came to stand beside Fai.
"Wheet-whoo! My, Sakura, you look beautiful." Fai turned to Kurogane, "Doesn't she, Kuro-tan?"
All the man could manage was, "...Hyu."
Syaoran and Sakura stood before the trio, wearing pristine white that emphasised the brilliance of their green and pink wings. Her anklet was visible beneath the cut of the dress Sakura wore.
"Thankyou all for being here. It means a lot to celebrate with you." Syaoran expressed his thanks to the three whom he had come to know well over the past few years.
"Mm," Sakura nodded, "it wouldn't be the same without you." She beamed and held the hand of her husband tightly.
"We wouldn't have missed it." Fai smiled.
And so it was, that Princess Sakura and Syaoran the beader were wed. They lived for many years together and cherished each day. For creatures so small as fairies, the love between Sakura and Syaoran was great – small beings are capable of impressive things, even in big worlds.
It seems fitting that this fairy tale should have a happy ending.