Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to Cardcaptor Sakura or any related characters clamp does. This story like the others, is just for fun because we still love the CCS characters.

Summary: In a world where mystical creatures are reality and fantasy is real, mages wage war on an evil king who rules over the land and is determined to conquer them all. Using his dark minions as his weapons, he reigns over the kingdom with fear.

But now two rogue mages; Fang (Syaoran) and Archangel (Sakura) set out on a journey to take back the land that has gone astray and avenge the loved ones they lost to the Demon King's tyranny.

But both are keeping secretes from the other and both are tied closer to the old kingdom than the other knows.

Can they learn to trust each other in time to fulfill their mission?

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Seen Change…

Archangel

Prologue

In a far away world there exist a kingdom where humans coexist with the mystical creatures of our imaginations; the kingdom of Clow.

In the streets of the cities and in the farms of the country side people lived with their normal dogs, cats, horses, and livestock.

These were the boundaries of human civilization. To go past them was to go into the forest and mountains of Clow.

Here gnome, fairies, leprechauns, nymph, elves, griffins, pixies, unicorns and more were known to play tricks on unsuspecting travelers. But such things were a novelty that traveling merchants came to expect and even welcome. For the presence of the playful creatures of light signaled the absence of the more malevolent creatures.

Darker creatures like trolls, cimera, goblins, and worse marked their territory deep in the forest and canyons usually away from humans. But most of the time is not all of the time; and deadly encounters did occur.

When conflict arose it was up to the local mages to keep the peace between the humans and the creatures they shared the world with.

Mage was the general term used to describe people who were gifted with magical abilities.

These abilities were a little different for every mage depending on their lineage, training, and even their personality. All these factors could affect how a mage's power manifested and how strong they could become. Because of their powers mages could form bonds and partnerships with the creatures of light who were attracted to the magical aura that surrounded a mage.

Dark creatures could be killed and fought off with the power of the mages and the creature of light they partnered with.

A clan of mages lived and worked in every city, village, and hamlet keeping peace in the name of the monarchy.

At this time the monarchy of Clow was benevolent and the people prospered under their gentle guidance.

The Kingdom of Clow had no army, it didn't need it. Not with the mage clans protecting their individual areas. The mages served as peace keepers in the king's name. Both crime and the dark magical creatures were kept at bay via this system for thousands of years.

But this once peaceful and happy kingdom has changed recently, becoming a dark and terrible place. Now the only thing that brings happiness to the new kingdom are stories of the old one.

The peace the people cherished was stolen from them by the very monarchy they had long revered. For the current king had a younger brother who desired the crown of Clow at all cost. His price would be a new world order.

The younger brother disappeared shortly after his older brother's marriage and coronation. No one knew where he went, but when he finally returned, he returned with a secret. A secret that allowed him to do something no one had ever done before. To take a step above forming a bond with a creature of light, he learned to take control of not just one but a legion of dark creatures.

He took that power and appealed to the criminals and outcast whom had been banished by the mage clans to the waist lands for their crimes.

With them he formed an army unlike any seen before. An army that was formed around the creatures of darkness the younger brother had learned to control. By turning them into his slaves he used them to attack the people of Clow.

Before that day, attacks by dark creatures were sporadic, they never involved more than a handful of them and a reason for the attack could always be found. But when the king's brother descended with his army of criminals and dark creatures the mages who protected the capital were unable to fend off the massive and unprecedented invasion.

The proud capital of Clow the city of light, Awai fell in a signal night. Those who survived bore witness to the rise of the Demon King, Kengen Clow. Across the land the mages were given only two options, serve the new king willingly or by force.

Rumors began to spread about a woman who sat by the new king's side, a Seer of amazing power.

But it was not her foresight that people feared; it was her 'treatment'.

With the touch of her hands she could shatter the will of any mage turning them into mindless puppets for the king's army. Bound by their fear the mages disappeared from the land; some going to the king willingly, others unwillingly. The rest became 'rouges' abandoning their homes, the people they protected, and the arts of magic. Their once proud heritage forced them into hiding.

In their place the king appointed members of his army to serve as a Vanguard for every city, town, and village. But unlike the mages who had protected the places they were positioned in, the vanguard's job is to control the people whom lived under them.

Anyone who resisted threatened to bring the wrath of the Demon King and his armies and monsters down on their entire village.

Now, without the mages to keep order, the magical creatures that once coexisted with humans fled, frightened of the Demon Kings dark powers.

Crime went unchecked; the members of the vanguard and army did as they pleased to whomever they please. Stories of murder, rape, and torture were all too common.

For most of the people of Clow all hope had vanished from the land.

But a select few knew something others did not about that terrible night the capital fell. They knew that hope had survived.

City of Awai, the Capital of Clow… night of the demon's attack

The tranquility of the night is carried away by the screams that permeated the air around the capital city of Awai.

The king of the Clow Kingdom had been killed by his brother and the city's mages were defeated by a relentless army of criminals and dark creatures.

The last hope for the kingdom now emerged from behind a large pile of rocks in the woods just outside the city.

Hidden behind a boulder there was a dark muddy tunnel two women used to escape the burning city. They hobbled along a dirty path tripping were the footing was poor. The crouched low because the tunnel was too small for them to stand upright.

They were covered in mud, their hair and clothes were askew, but they were still alive.

When they reached the end of the cave one of the women pushed hard against the hidden entrance while the other watched. She suppressed a felling of panic when the rocks that were piled in their path did not give way. It was dark and the small amount of light that came through the entrance felt more like a cruel joke then a comfort.

She clawed, kicked, and pounded with desperation until the dirt and rock finally gave way and the rocks blocking the entrance collapsed. The sudden rush of light and the cool night air invigorated the exhausted women.

"Hurry my queen." The first woman dressed in the bloodied brown dress and white apron of a healer reached back into the tunnel helping the other woman to her feet.

The other woman dressed in an elegant but tattered silk dress was the now former queen of Clow.

In her arm she clutched a crying newborn baby boy, the last true heir of Clow.

The queen turned to look at the ruined city over the horizon of the trees. Her disheveled appearance was outdone by the tears that leaked from her brown eyes.

"Today was to be a day of celebration. My husband the King and I, we finally had a boy, he finally had a son. He was so happy."

"Please my queen my home is not far, we live in the woods because my husband does not like the city. Come to my home, we can hide you and the baby." The younger healer woman tugged desperately at the queen's arm.

The queen put up her hand slowly shaking her head.

"No my friend, they will look for us and I cannot put you or your family in danger. You have your own children to take care of."

The queen tenderly places a hand over the healer's small but noticeable baby bump.

"Thank you for bringing my son safely into the world. Go to your husband, take your son, and flee as far from this area as you can."

"But my lady you just gave birth! You're in no condition to travel and where will you go?"

"My home village is far from here and well hidden from the rest of the world. It was only a fluke that I caught my husband's eye while on a trip to the capital. My daughters are there already visiting with my parents, we did not want them around a new born until we were sure he was strong enough to be around other children without becoming ill. We can all hide there safely. Don't worry about me I come from a long line of strong mages, and even stronger women, I can make it on my own. I will however ask one last thing of you my friend."

The queen pulls out a small satchel from her robes and hands it to the healer. Inside was a royal heirloom passed down from the man whom founded the Clow Kingdom.

"My lady… this is…"

"My husband could not get to it in time and it is the only hope left now. I can not take it with me; I'm a big enough target with just my son alone. This… Demon King must never get his hands on it! When my son is grown he will be able to use this and make everything right again, I'm sure of it. I ask you to protect it until that time comes."

"I will my queen." The healer took the item with shaking hands and a tear streaked face.

She attempted to wipe her tears in her sleeve. She would not be weak in front of the queen who trusted her with an important part of the monarchy's power, she had to be strong.

"Goodbye, should we never meet again; I want you to know that I considered you one of my dearest friends."

"I feel the same way my queen." The healer said with a bow.

The healer tried to remain composed but sorrow overtook her as she embraced her friend one last time.

"Please be careful. And you little one…" the healer turned to address the baby.

"You grow up to be a strong man."

The baby who had been wailing this whole time suddenly stopped as if he had taken the healers words to heart. His bright eyes half closed seemed to understand more than an infant could.

Relinquishing from their embrace the two women turned and ran off in opposite directions.

As destiny would have it, their paths would never cross again. But their parting on this night would intertwine the destiny of many people and reshape the fate of the Kingdom of Clow.