The Legend of the Ancient Future
Ratings: PG-13
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Author: DaNcInGFiRe
Summary: Sakura found herself in the 6th century, not knowing how she came here but with her talented Tae-kwon-do skills she won the admiration of the charming Prince Li and the whole kingdom.
The Light
As evening cast its shadow across the horizon, Sakura secured the last bolt and replaced the hubcap. She tilted back on her heels to admire her work when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the back tyre was also losing air.
'Goddamn hire cars,' she cried, kicking the dying tyre with her steel capped boot. 'I don't believe it!'
It was difficult to see how bad the puncture was as the old country road was poorly lit. Sakura drew back her auburn bangs and sighed, kissing goodbye to any chance of making it to her aunt's house by dinner. She travelled all the way to China to see her bloody aunt, and she can't even get a decent hire car. Disheartened, she turned and lent on the car to mull over her problem.
The difference between a good situation and a bad one lay only in one's perception. The voice of her Sensei came into her thoughts.
It wasn't as if she was afraid to be in the country at night, for she was more than capable of protecting herself. Only a few months back she'd achieved her second Dan grade (black belt) in Tae-kwon-do. She'd also trained in kickboxing, a sport her brother, Brian, had encouraged her to pursue.
Brian had been Sakura's driving force, her fierce competitor and closest friend. Her recollection of the events that led to his death continued to plague her, though two years had passed since the tragedy.
On the final day of their first Dan grade competition, Brian and Sakura had competed against strong oppositions to secure the title in their weight classes. Brian had sustained a couple of bad strikes to the head, but the doctor who examined him afterwards gave him the all clear to go home. The next morning Sakura found her brother dead. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be a subdural haematoma, which is swollen bruised tissue that leads to a build up of pressure on the brain. The doctors compounded her family's distress by explaining that if this had been detected at the time of the injury, Brian might have been saved. Sakura never competed again.
Sakura's father Fujitaka, was a professor of Chinese history and language. He travelled the world lecturing at universities and was often called upon to investigate archaeological finds. Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko was a classical harpist of some merit, and was forever flying off to perform with one orchestra or another. These professional obligations sent her parents abroad soon after Touya's death. Sakura had insisted on staying home in Japan as she wanted to finish her year at university. She spent most of her time on her own anyway, studying history, music, mythology, philosophy, metaphysics and the like. Her father's knowledge of Chinese history had also ensured that Sakura had a firm grasp of speaking Chinese. Chinese was like a second language to her.
Sakura glanced up at the encroaching night sky. She remembered seeing an inn on the corner as she'd turned off the highway; however that was quite a way back. She looked down the road in the other direction, but as there weren't any houses nearby, she considered the fence beside her.
The property was bordered by large trees, and as Sakura approached them her heart began to pound in her chest.
'I don't believe it,' she uttered, as she saw a large golden statue in the field beyond. She was tempted to investigate so she retrieved her backpack, shoulder bag and saxophone case and locked up the car for the night.
The statue appeared to be at least 40 feet wide. The statue was a little rusted. As she reached the front of the statue a strong presence came over her and she stopped in her tracks. According to Sakura's knowledge of history, this statue represented a famous king who ruled China. Sakura couldn't remember his name just now but knew he was good and kind to all people. How strange that I find myself here tonight. She was a little scared at the thought, for tonight was the summer solstice. When Sakura recalled tales and rumours of this place at a summer solstice, a shiver ran up her spine.
She knelt down to retrieve her black leather jacket, the only possession of her brother's she had wanted to keep. It was well known as Brian's lucky jacket. It was also two sizes too large for her and very comfortable. As Sakura felt the familiar safety of the jacket, she assured herself that it wasn't fear that made her shiver, just the cold evening air.
Turning on her torch, Sakura set about sorting through the clothes, books, sheet music and toiletries in her backpack in search of something to eat, rummaging amongst her CD walkman and speakers, her headphones, camera, spare film and batteries. What she really felt like was a hamburger with fries and a coke, yet all she managed to dig up was a half-eaten sandwich, a bottle of water and a packet of crackers. It wasn't much but it was better than starving.
Tipping the last cracker into her mouth, Sakura stuffed her things back in her pack.
She leant against the statue and muttered, 'Here I am getting high, at what some would consider a sacred site, on the night of the summer solstice at…' She strained her eyes to check her watch, '…quarter to midnight.' Sakura smiled, this was definitely not what she imagined she'd be doing this evening.
As she stood to face the statue again, she thought of all the celebrations that would be taking place tonight. People would be performing old rites, dancing, singing and playing homage to the Goddess, which is mother earth. Oddly enough, the atmosphere surrounding the statue no longer perturbed her. On the contrary, it seemed to welcome, even beckon her towards the centre. So she ventured into the middle, dragging her belongings along with her.
'Close enough.' Sakura dropped her things where she stood and took off her boots. The potent energy of the place intrigued her, so she sat on the ground in the lotus position. The back of her hands rested gently on her knees and her thumb and middle finger met to form a circle, aiding the circulation of energy around her body. She closed her eyes and took three deep breaths, to achieve a relaxed, peaceful state.
Her attention was drawn to the sound of little night creatures. She inhaled progressively deeper, focusing her thoughts on the hooting of an owl close by. Sakura had become so engrossed with this sound that she did not notice the light around her growing steadily more intense. This often happened when she meditated; colours would emerge in her mind, intense colour at times, but never before had the light been so white for so long. She continued to breathe deeply, imagining that she was inhaling the brilliant white light throughout her body, and it filled her with a sense of strength and well-being.
The owl stopped hooting and Sakura became aware of a faint humming; like the buzzing in your ears after a rock concert, only this was more melodic. It gradually increased in volume to the point where it bothered her and she was compelled to open her eyes.
The white light she thought she had imagined, truly surrounded her and appeared to be exuding from the statue. The mist rose towards the sky to form a large billowing cloud. From within the statue, a ball of blue light, no bigger than a coin, made its way towards her.
What is it? A fairy perhaps? She'd never actually seen one, so she couldn't dispel the possibility.
In her study of these stones, Sakura recalled that scientists had documented sightings of this light phenomena. Some said it was caused by geological and electromagnetic factors, but the energy involved was so exotic that it could relate to consciousness itself, considering consciousness as a field effect; like actually seeing the equivalent of Chi energy.
The sound of laughter then began to filter through Sakura's head and it sounded suspiciously male. This irked her and she looked around for its source.
'Is this some kind of elaborate hoax?' she asked.
The laughter rose again, only clearer now.
Sakura drew herself up straight. 'Show yourself. I am not afraid.'
The light was still for a moment. Then in a blink of an eye it darted towards her, almost touching her forehead. Sakura's limbs froze, as she began to feel faint as the light penetrated her skin.
a/n: Hi! I hope you don't get bored with my new story. The first chapter is a little boring but trust me; it's going to get a hell of a lot more interesting. I know that Sakura's brother is Touya but there is a perfect explanation why I named him Brian. You'll understand in the next few chapters. Anywayz, it's based on a story I read a few years ago and I loved it! I hope you like this story, there's going to be a lot of romance in it! Lol!
Review, alright? Tell me what you think.
~DaNcInGFiRe
