Fairytales
Written by: Lady Tomboy
A Princess who doesn't want to be saved, a witch with a cell phone, and fairytales without the happily ever after? And this all is supposed to be one man's fault?
AN: Sorry to those who are waiting for an update on my other story, but since the comp. was busted, I couldn't continue it since all my work was on there, and i didn't have any back up files. Just now the comp. is fixed so I should be able to get back to it soon This is a new story I came up with in the time that the comp. was busted. Hope you like it. (And Kurai, thank you so much for the advice :) hehe you to bro.)
Disclaimer: Ahh I almost forgot this, but just thought of it so don't sue! (don't have anything besides random bugs found in the house maybe ....) anyways don't own anything I'm using in this story that belongs to someone else already! I did come up with the story though ... (think that covers it :S)
Chapter 1: A Single Tear
On a cold dark night in December, a young man walked down the almost abandoned streets. As he walked by the display windows, filled with Christmas trees and everything that comes with it, rain started to poor down from the skies.
Unlike most people, he welcomed it, embracing the cold and letting the rain splash on his face as he looked up at the sky with sad eyes. To him it felt good. The raindrops were as the tears he refused to shed.
He had been walking around ever since that afternoon. Walking around aimlessly, not knowing where to go. He just let his feet take him wherever they wanted to go. He was a man, a broken man, and even though he felt lost, he refused to give in to the urge to break down and cry. After all, man did not cry, they had to stay strong, get over it, and go on with their lives, just as was expected of them.
Even though it was getting closer and closer to Christmas, right now he wished that he could just skip it. He wanted to go home, turn off the lights, and hide himself from the outside world. For the darkness to swallow him whole, and never spit him out again. Just some time to himself and his thoughts.
But instead it was Christmas eve. A day to spend with your friends and family, who no doubt, were waiting for him to come home. Something he couldn't do right now…
He couldn't believe how this could have happened to him. God he had been so foolish, foolish enough to believe that something like that would never happen to him. Oh how wrong he had been.
That afternoon he had been looking for the perfect Christmas present, a ring. He had wanted to ask her hand in marriage. It would have been perfect. A romantic dinner with music at the table, then a ride in a carriage through the park, and finally at home in front of the fireplace, over a nice cool glass of champagne, he would pop the question.
He had never been more sure about anything in his entire life. It would have been perfect… and yet, here he was walking all alone. He had even lost track of the time. He wasn't sure for how long he had been walking, he only remembered that one moment. The moment he had seen her…..
He had walked into a jewellery store, when he spotted her through the window walking past with a man he had never seen before. "Maybe it's one of her friends" he had thought foolishly enough. But that was when she stopped, stood on tiptoes and shared a passionate kiss with that same man….
The moment she had disappeared from view, the store owner came back to show him several more rings. "Here you go sir, these are our finest designs."
He had only stood there, feeling numb all over, and the only thing he knew, was that he had to get out of there.
"Sir? Are you alright Sir?" the man had asked upon seeing his ghostly white face, and more than shocked expression. The man left the counter and walked over to him "Sir?" he asked once more, but still he got no response.
The store owner carefully put a hand on his shoulder "Mr. Li? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost" the man said hoping to get a responds.
The man, now identified as Mr. Li, turned around and nodded absentmindedly, as he thanked the man for his help, and the trouble he went through to get the rings, but that it wasn't necessary any longer. With that said, he left the store and started walking, and that was what he had been doing ever since.
He felt hurt and betrayed to say the least, but he also felt that he had been blind. How could he have missed it? Now that he thought back, the signs had all been there. Sure she had been a busy woman, with many appointments and business calls to attend to, but even on days that she was free, she would have other appointments that she couldn't reschedule. Something like that had always been her excuse lately.
He should have noticed something when she had started to get more distant from him, but he had taken it lightly, and written it off on her being busy with her work, and never given it a second thought. God he had been so stupid! Stupid enough to trust her, with even his deepest feelings and desires. He had been head over heals for her, she had his heart in her hands, and thrown it right back at his face, before she stepped on it with her high heels, and crushed it completely.
What was he supposed to do now? The only thing that was as clear as daylight to him now, was that he would never, never ever give his heart out to anyone ever again. There was no such thing as love, and he had found that out the hard way. There was nothing magical, or fantastic about it. The only thing that you would get for giving yourself to someone completely, was pain and darkness.
Takashi had been so wrong with all his stories about love, and the happily ever afters. They just didn't exist, that he was sure about. Why had he been so willing to listen to them in the first place? He knew that answer… He had been in love, that's why… Oh he had been such a fool, he knew that now…
Li had been walking around and pondering all this time, trying to think of any reason at all, to stay away from home. But now that it had started to freeze, and the roads were getting slippery, he had no choice but to return. He had only been wearing a sweater this afternoon and that was still the only protection he was wearing against the cold.
He sighed. He wasn't sure if he could face his friends and family, and tell them that it was over between him and Crissy. Her actual name was Christal but he had always called her Crissy. He had been the only one allowed to call her that… but now he wasn't so sure about that anymore. Maybe it had all been one big lie?
Now that he thought about it, he had heard all the stories about her, but never believed a single one of them. She made him feel good about himself, that, he thought, was what he loved about her. She had a way with words, and always knew exactly what to say, at moments he needed them the most, even though he never told her that. She was graceful, and a delicacy for the eye to look at. However, she turned out to be a true femme fatal…
Other man had warned him for her, going as far as saying she was the worker bee, going from flower to flower, and onto the next if she was done with it. "How could they say something like that about her?" He had thought. "She looks so pure, with that warm and loving smile on her face". He should've listened to those men, back then. At least that way, he would have been saved from all these horrible feelings.
He had even gone as far, as to think that it was his fault. That he had done something wrong, or that he hadn't been good enough to her. He had thought that maybe that was the reason that she was cheating on him with that … man.
It was difficult to feel hurt, love, pain and anger all at the same time. He wasn't sure which feeling was worse, or which one he should give into. It was if they were all jumbled and he couldn't decide which emotion was the one he needed to listen to the most right now.
When Li finally arrived at his home, he stood in front of his own door for several more minutes, contemplating whether or not he would walk through that door, or turn around and go someplace to be alone.
He eventually decided against being alone, not being able to listen to his thoughts any longer. A little distraction would do him good. Anything was better than catching a pneumonia out here… "Here I go" he thought. "I'll just put on a happy face and maybe they won't notice anything wrong with me. I'll have enough time to ponder about this tonight… when I'm alone." And with that he took out his keys and opened the front door.
"There you are Syaoran!" exclaimed his surprised friends when he walked into the room, leaving a trail of water in his wake.
By the looks of it, Takashi was there together with a few girls, and so was Takashi's best friend Eriol, who was also accompanied by two girls. He knew the three girls that came along with Takashi, they were known as: Mihara Chiharu, Sasaki Rika, and Yanagisawa Naoko. Then there were the two that had come along with Hiiragizawa. One of them he knew to be Daidouji Tomoyo, the other one however, he had never seen before.
"Great" he thought sarcastically "they just had to come and bring friends …" But that was when he remembered that he was the one who told Takashi to bring some friends along. He mentally smacked himself.
He had thought that maybe Takashi would bring along that annoying person Hiiragizawa Eriol. He was an unnerving type of a person really, that Eriol. For some reason he never made sense, and yet seemed to know anything about everything. Very frustrating, but for Takashi's sake, he had tolerated Eriol the few times he came along with Takashi.
"What?" he asked defensively when they kept staring at him as if he'd just grown a couple of antennas out of his ears.
"Xiao Lang, what happened to you?" his mother, whom chose that moment to walk into the room to announce that dinner was ready, asked him when she noticed the state he was in.
He was shivering, and if he didn't change soon, he'd catch a cold to say the least. "Hurry up and change into some dry clothes. After that you can explain yourself." and with that said, she turned around and led everyone else towards the dining room.
Syaoran was very tempted to start yelling at his mother, and everyone else present, but he managed to refrain himself and do as his mother said. After all you didn't argue with her, unless you wanted a very painful and slow death…
When he reached his room and slowly started to change into some dry clothes, the temptation to stay there by himself was even greater than yelling at everyone… but after another mental image of what his mother would do to him if he didn't show up, made up his mind for him, and he walked downstairs slowly, to join the others at dinner.
He reached the dining room too fast for his liking, and when he was about to enter he heard a part of the ongoing conversation. "What ditch did he crawl out from?" asked one of the girls. "Are you sure he's the same guy I've heard so much about?" asked another, while the next one said: "He looked more like a bum when he walked into the house if you ask me. I was surprised they even let him in the house!"
Honestly he couldn't blame them for thinking that. He was just glad that his mother was in the kitchen arranging something with the dinner, and his sisters weren't there yet. His mother would have been ashamed of him, and the way he had looked when he walked into that door, he didn't blame her if she did. He sort of expected her to lecture him as soon as his friends would have gone home.
"He just looked like he had gone through a terrible ordeal" said another girl. That voice was the only one he hadn't heard before, and therefore he guessed that it belonged to the new girl.
Syaoran opened the door and cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and all the talking stopped right away. Except for Takashi's of course. He was the only one who chattered on happily to his friend Eriol about the existence of rain. Syaoran wasn't sure if it was even possible to have an entire conversation about it, but somehow, Takashi and Eriol managed to do it. If he hadn't just experienced the worst day in his life, he would have been amazed.
"A long time ago, there was a boy walking home from school, and when it started to rain, he ended up swimming home." Takashi had started to say, "and that was the first time he had ever seen rain, and concluded that it were either crying birds, or angels having a major cleanup." Eriol finished off for Takashi. Sometimes those two were just too weird…
Everyone in the room sweat dropped, except for one girl… the new girl. She was listening to them intently and looked like she believed every word they said.
As soon as his mother walked back into the dining room and took her seat, even Takashi managed to shut up for a little while. "Well Xiao Lang, we are waiting" she said. To everyone there she might have looked, and sounded composed, but to Syaoran, she didn't. He knew better than to think that, he heard the slight annoyed and even disappointed undertone in her voice.
How was he going to get out of this one without spilling the truth? Even if he made something up right now, his mother would know about it. Either way it would only make things worse, and that was exactly something he couldn't handle right now, so only one thing was left…
"Me and Crissy are uhm … having some problems right now…" he said slowly, deciding that it was best to try and confront Crissy about what he had seen earlier that day, before explaining the whole situation, one that he didn't even understand yet himself, to his friends and family. "Afterwards I just felt like a walk I guess…" he said shrugging.
The three girls, Naoko, Chiharu, and Rika, looked at each other guiltily. Obviously feeling guilty about what they had said earlier. Tomoyo on the other hand looked at him with sympathy, but that wasn't what he wanted. He didn't need her compassion, or her sympathy for that matter. All he wanted right now was some peace and quiet.
Tomoyo's friend, whom btw still hadn't been introduced to him, was giving him a sceptical look. Her big emerald eyes shone brightly at him, as if she was questioning what he had just told them. It was as if she knew he hadn't told them the whole truth. It was sort of creepy when he thought about it.
"What's your name?" Syaoran asked the girl suddenly, catching her by surprise.
"Huh?" all of her doubt had disappeared from her face instantly, and big innocent eyes were staring back at him. Normally he would have found it amusing, to see her facial futures change as fast as they did on her, but right now he didn't really care.
"Oh how rude of me!" exclaimed a shocked Tomoyo " I totally forgot to introduce her to you! Li Syaoran, this is my best friend, Kinomoto Sakura."
Tomoyo looked overly pleased with herself for some reason. He wasn't sure as to why, but then again, it didn't matter. The girl got up from her seat at the table, and bowed a greeting "Nice to meet you Li" and sat back down.
"Whatever" was his short reply.
Kinomoto raised her eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. His mother on the other hand, apologised for her son's rude behaviour, and gave a cold stare in his direction.
If he had hurt the Kinomoto girl's feelings, she didn't show it. She seemed to be rather good at schooling her features, like he usually was, and told his mother that it was okay.
"May I be excused, mother?" he asked curtly, already getting up to take his leave. He really needed a little time to himself.
"Make sure you are back down here when your sisters arrive" was all she said to him.
To him that was as good as a yes, so he got up and left for his room. Solitude, that would do him some good, he was sure of that.
Now that he was alone however, he was restless once more. What should he do? The event of that afternoon wouldn't stop haunting his thoughts. Should he give her a call and demand an explanation? However tempting that was to calm his thoughts, he refused to do that. It was like giving her an easier time than he felt that she deserved right now. At least if he faced her, he'd be sure she wasn't lying straight to his face, like she could do over the phone, and in the latter, he'd never know.
He walked towards the bathroom and splashed some cold water in his face, once more trying to clear his thoughts, hoping he'd be able to wash away all his troubles.
Downstairs, he heard the front door open, and one of their servants, Wei, greet one of his sisters. Had he really been here that long already? Had it taken him this long to make up his mind? Oh well it couldn't be helped.
Syaoran sighed as he got up and walked downstairs, to join his family and friends in the living room.
When he opened the door, he saw everyone getting their presents and mentally smacked himself. "Shit, I forgot the presents" and with that thought he turned around and went back to his room, where he had stashed the presents.
This time when he reached the living room door, he actually made it through the door, and walked inside.
Everyone was already seated around the Christmas tree, and all looked up when he put the presents with the others and sat down.
"Look who found their way back home" teased one of his sisters.
Syaoran only grunted in responds and stared off in space. Couldn't they at least hold on the teasing? He really wasn't in the mood for that crap now.
Finally, when his mother joined them, they started to hand out the presents everyone bought for each other.
First up was Takashi. With way too much enthusiasm he literally jumped up from his place on the couch, and almost ran over to the tree, not realizing what he left behind… Syaoran's mother had almost fallen over, if it hadn't been for one of her daughters, the drinks that they had were currently gracing the carpet, and, besides Eriol and Tomoyo, everyone had either amused or shocked expressions on their faces.
"This is for you, and this is for you, and this for you" it went on for a while until everyone had a present of him in their hands except for Syaoran. All the presents were the exact same size and were even wrapped the same way. "and this" Takashi said handing Syaoran his present "is a very special gift. Go on everyone open it!" he said excitedly. It was hard to tell who was more excited, Takashi waiting for everyone to unwrap, or the girls unwrapping their first present.
Syaoran was the first one to unwrap his and fell silent, staring down at it. Upon seeing that Syaoran finished his unwrapping, Takashi immediately launched into telling Syaoran why the gift was so special.
"This old book holds magical powers" he told Syaoran who still hadn't said anything "I found it in an old store. The store owner told me no one wanted it, because the last owner of the book disappeared. He said that he was sucked into the book and had never been able to get out of it. This magical book though, also has another side to it, if you read its stories under a blue moon, together with someone you love, you two will live happily ever after." He finished telling the story happily.
Sakura looked at him, doing a nice impression of a fish, and was gawking at the book still in Syaoran's lap. "Are you saying that I could get sucked into that book?" she asked and gulped audible.
Sakura slowly started to lean back into the couch more and more, trying to hide from the creepy book. She didn't want to get sucked in there! She liked her life just the way it was!
Naoko on the other hand squealed in delight. "That is such a great gift! Imagine getting sucked in there. There might even be dragons, wizards, mystical beasts, and what not! I'm so jealous"
Sakura on the other hand was getting more and more scared of the book. It might be all about happily ever afters, but that still didn't mean that if you got sucked into that book, you would actually live happily ever after. While Sakura was trying to get away from it, Naoko dragged her along to get a closer look at the book.
"No! Naoko don't touch it!" shouted an overly worried Sakura, trying to tug her arm free from the crazy girl. "It could have ghosts…." Sakura said as she got a chill down her body, but Naoko was already on cloud nine, admiring the book from all sides.
"So Syaoran, if you want that happily ever after with Crissy, you know what to do tonight" Takashi winked at his still not moving friend.
Everyone was watching Syaoran for a responds, sure that he would be happy with such a special gift. They didn't need to wait long for his responds however.
"Great…." Syaoran muttered as he slowly got up "this is just great!" and at his out burst everyone turned their shocked faces towards the source.
Syaoran was livid. He got up, up and pushed Takashi backwards. "Is this supposed to be a joke?! You bought me a book filled with fairytales?! What the fuck is wrong with you man?! All this fucking nonsense about love, and happily ever afters, who believes in that shit? I don't, and you know why? Because it's bullshit! It's a stupid myth. Things people made up in the early days, when their lives became so hard that making up stories about true love and fairytales, was the only way for them to believe in something! Get the clue! I grew up, I don't believe in fairytales, nor do I believe in love, or happily ever afters for that matter. And so would you" he yelled turning around to face Eriol for some reason he didn't even understand himself "if you caught your girlfriend, the one you thought and even believed you loved, cheating on you, in public! So take your fucking book, and your stupid lies away from me, and leave me the hell alone!"
With that said, Syaoran stormed out of the living room, leaving everyone behind in a shocked state, and went straight for his room.
They just didn't understand how he felt. The moment he saw the book something just snapped. It was as if Takashi just had to rub it in his face. Okay so if he thought reasonable for a second he was sure Takashi hadn't meant to do anything like that, but at the moment he didn't feel like thinking reasonable at all. He was just pissed off and the yelling down below had actually felt sort of good…. Even though right now he felt guilty for saying all those things against his best friend.
He knew how Takashi was a big fan of fairytales, and thought everyone else loved them as much as he did. Normally Syaoran didn't mind it, but that was before this afternoon, before he had caught his girl in someone else's arms. "Stupid Fairytales!" he thought angrily as he kicked his closet door. "Stupid love stories, I can't believe he still likes them! I wish they didn't exist!"
Downstairs in the living room, everyone had recovered from Syaoran's outburst, and were currently talking quietly. "Poor Syaoran, if only he had told us about that earlier…." said Tomoyo softly. The other girls nodded, except for Sakura.
She silently agreed with Li about Love not existing, but she was mad at him for ridiculing fairytales, she happened to like those…. "poor Syaoran? Hardly, he needs anger managements classes, and lots of them" she muttered under her breath.
"What did you say Sakura? Asked Rika who had been talking with the other girls intently about 'the poor guy'. "Oh nothing… just that he didn't have to be such an ass against his supposedly best friend" she said not wanting to repeat her early sentence.
Rika looked over at Takashi, who was currently talking happily to Li's mother. "He doesn't seem to mind" she said chuckling slightly.
Chiharu on the other hand just shrugged and wrote it off on Takashi living in his own damn world.
Eriol had been quiet ever since Syaoran had stormed out the door. He looked down at the copy of his own fairytales book and smiled. It was a great gift he thought, before going over to where Syaoran had thrown his book at the floor, and picking it up he put it on the table.
Takashi had been right about one thing though, it was a very rare example. It had a brownish cover with 'Fairytales' in yellow calligraphy lettering. It was in one word beautiful, if you liked books that is.
It wasn't long after Syaoran had gone upstairs, before he heard the visitors leave the house. "Finally" he thought. It wasn't often that he didn't even want his best friend around, even if he could be very annoying from time to time, but today was different.
As soon as the guests had left however, he heard footsteps on the stairs. "Here comes the lecture" he thought gloomily.
Li Yellan opened the door to her son's room. At first she had considered knocking, but his behaviour had been embarrassing to say the least. Self-assured she walked inside, closed the door, and was currently towering over her son.
"Syaoran, we need to have a serious talk about your behaviour tonight. It was unheard off…." and as she started their conversation, minutes turned into hours and their talk turned into a full fledged argument. Well Syaoran started shouting, his mother however stayed composed throughout the whole ordeal.
"Damn it mother, can't you for once, just once, give me a break?! Sheesh what's wrong with you? Don't you have any feelings at all?!" he practically screamed at her face.
Normally he wouldn't dare raise his voice against his mother, but right now he didn't care what she would do to him.
What she did however, surprised him greatly. One single tear ran down her face. Her face never once moved a muscle, and was still looking as calm and composed as she had been the entire time. However her eyes… Her eyes showed only hurt, and disappointment in her son.
"Very well then," she said and got up and walked towards the door. She didn't turn around as she said "we will discuss this later." Her voice wavered slightly at the very last word, and hadn't Syaoran seen the crystal tear run down her face, he would have never believed it.
His mother had never cried, or he had never seen her cry, ever. Had he really been the cause of that? He was shocked. The only thing he could think of at that moment, was that single tear, and her voice… God, he was such a jerk. He'd have to think of a way to make it up to her, but that was for later, now he needed to try and get some sleep.
It was almost midnight now, and Syaoran still couldn't sleep. So instead he went down towards the basement, to use their training facilities. Maybe a nice long workout would do him some good.
He didn't return to his own room but instead trained until he dropped on the floor and couldn't move anymore. Syaoran managed to pull off his gloves and rested his head on those. It wasn't long before he drifted off in a very unruly sleep…
AN: It might seem a little dark now, but don't worry, things are 'bout to change and remember to leave me a review !
