Hi peeps! This is a new story that I thought I would start to type. I do
not know how much I will get done and I do not know when I will post it,
but oh well. '-_- *sigh* I hope that you all like this. It might be a
little slow at the beginning, or a little fast, who knows. There is A LOT
of info in the first chap so read kind of carefully. I hope everyone had a
good Easter!
Lil' Indian Cherry Blossom
*****Sakura*****
Once again, my walk through the forest was more than I bargained for. My moccasin shoes padded along softly on the dry earth. I was humming a tune that my mother taught me a long time ago. That was before she died though. My mother, the chief's wife of the Kinomoto Tribe, died of a deadly fever when I was three years old. We later found out that Chang, the chief of the Li Tribe, died of the very same fever just a few days after.
The Li tribe and the Kinomoto tribe didn't get along very well after that for some very strange reason. I never knew why, or what happened, but something in the past must have happened to cause us to drift so far apart. Both chiefs and their wives got along ten years ago… so why didn't they now? What was that deep dark secret that was buried in the past?
If I hadn't had so much on my mind then I might have seen this coming. If I hadn't been humming the Kinomoto tribe's song then THEY might not have known that I was coming. I may have been able to walk by unnoticed. When I heard the all-famous wolf cry that the Li tribe made when about ready to attack, I froze. Why had I decided to wonder around all by myself?
"Capture her!" Came the lead warrior's voice.
I turned in circles, wide-eyed as I was surrounded by seven full-grown men of the Li tribe. They all had black war paint on their faces, and anger in their eyes. I backed up a step, then another. My village was more than five miles away, and I was in the thick of the woods. No one would be able to hear me as I shouted for help.
"Daaaaaaaaaad!" I yelled, regretting that I had come all this way. I backed up into one of the warriors and he held a hand tightly over my mouth. I tried kicking but another person grabbed both of my legs. They lifted me up and started to carry me away. I twisted this way and that, but they still held on. I finally stopped struggling, tears forming in the edges of my eyes. How come I was the one to always get caught?
We arrived at the Li tribe's after we exited the forest, crossed the river, and went down into the valley. I have been here before many times, all of them the exact same way. They capture me, the Chief's youngest child and daughter of the Kinomoto tribe, and get something in exchange. Usually it was how we would settle or solve disputes.
When the warriors passed other tents that belonged to the Li tribe, the people would come out and snigger, pointing at me. I glared at them, my throat tight and my eyes burning. They had no love or kindness in those dark, hateful hearts of theirs. No happiness or joy what-so-ever.
The warriors brought me to the middle tent that I learned by now was the chief's tent. Chief Ling came out of the tent flap and stood up straight and proud. A smirk crossed his face when he saw me. The men set me roughly on the ground in a kneeling position, holding my arms tightly behind my back. I looked up at the Chief through my bangs, glaring. His eyes were full of contempt.
"Well, little flower, it looks as if we have captured you once again. Are you ALWAYS this careless?" Chief Ling asked, crossing his arms over his chest and holding his head high.
"We? Who's we? YOU didn't do anything! YOU don't like getting your hands dirty! My brother…"
"Your brother is a pain in my rear end!" He snarled. [An: sorry, it's rated PG]
That shut me up, but not for long. "That's because you could never live up to him! My BROTHER is always the one to capture…"
"Enough! You are more trouble than you are worth! I don't know WHY they ever want you back!"
That stung. My lips started trembling, and my eyes filled with tears. I wouldn't let HIM get the best of me! Not EVER!
"Maybe they won't want me back! Maybe you wasted all of your precious time! Maybe…"
I was answered by that with a slap across the face. I wasn't very surprised, but I WAS angry! 'Who does he think he is?!?'
"Tie her up in the prisoners tent! She will not be eating tonight. Make sure Little Wolf guards her well."
I was dragged to a small tent about a hundred feet away from the chief's tent. They bound my hands and feet and then tied me to a totem pole. I leaned my head back against the pole and closed my eyes. I heard the warriors leave, but still didn't open my eyes. Tonight was going to be a VERY long night.
I dozed off for what seemed like only a few moments, but must have been a few hours because I awoke with a start when I heard a loud clatter. The tent flap was halfway open and I saw the darkened sky of twilight. A silhouette was closing the tent flap, the person's back to me. I wouldn't have been able to see who it was anyway because of the darkness, unless they were really close to my face. I vaugly saw the figure turn around. I was sitting on the ground so I couldn't really tell how tall the person was, therefore, I couldn't tell how old they were.
I realized that I fell asleep on my knees, and that my entire leg was tingling. [AN: Have you ever done that before? I have! It is NOT fun. You don't know whether to laugh or want to rip your leg off! It's horrible!] I struggled for a second, trying to get my legs out from under me. When I was finally sitting cross-legged I sighed with relief.
The person that was moving around in the tent froze. Then a quiet voice filled the tent.
"Sorry if I woke you." It came out just above a whisper.
"It's alright," I said softly, trying to figure out who else was in the tent. It was a masculine voice, and it sounded familiar. [An: Anyone got a guess? ^-^]
He came over and knelt down in front of me. I saw dark messy hair and light, honey-brown eyes. Syaoran. [AN: OF COURSE! ^-^ Who else?] I looked down and saw that he was carrying a little woven basket of berries. He must have followed my gaze because the next thing he said was, "I thought you might be hungry."
I looked up at him gratefully, and smiled. "Thank you, but… won't you get in trouble if they found out you were helping me?" I asked, meaning his tribe.
He scowled. "Fine. I just thought that you were hungry." He started to stand up.
"No. Wait!" I said, trying to reach out to stop him. I sighed when my hand wouldn't move because it was tied behind my back. Just then my stomach growled and I sweat dropped.
He stopped trying to stand back up and let out a soft, low laugh. It was bitter, but it was a laugh none-the-less. "I take it you ARE hungry?"
I nodded my head in defeat. He sat down across from me and put the basket between us. We sat there in silence for a little bit, unmoving. Then I realized that my hands were still tied behind my back and I hung my head.
"I guess I'm not so hungry after all," I said dryly. My stomach suggested otherwise with another loud grumble.
"I- I can… feed you the b-b-berries," Syaoran said in a quiet voice, not making eyecontact with me. "I-It'll be easier to eat."
I blushed, not knowing why. "Th-thank you."
Syaoran was hand feeding me black berries. I felt incredibly stupid, but after a while I loosened up and started a conversation.
"How long will it be this time?" I asked after swallowing another black berry.
"I don't know. It shouldn't be as long as the other time though. That was when you were here for a week. I'd say… two or three days."
I nodded my head. That sounded reasonable. "What do they want?" I asked. "Last time they wanted more of the river for fishing. What is it this time?"
Syaoran's face was grim. "It's more of what LING wants."
"Ling?" I asked. "Why don't you call him father? Or at least Chief Ling?"
He looked at me with disbelief in his eyes. "You don't get it because when your dad married, that person didn't become chief and have practically total control over the tribe. The day I call him father is the day I marry Meiling, and believe me, I'm not EVER going to marry Meiling! Not to be mean to HER… but to be mean to that so-called CHIEF!"
I raised my eyebrows. "You dislike him that much?" I knew that I hated his guts… but his own PEOPLE hated him?!?
"You have NO idea. You don't know the real him. You only see him on his good days where he doesn't want to rule the entire planet. Believe me, if you knew the real him, you wouldn't be so careless and get caught all the time."
"Me?!?" I exclaimed, turning red with embarrassment. "What about you? Touya ALWAYS captures you when asked, and only one time he came back with a scratch! YOU'RE the one who's careless! It's like you keep testing your limits, hoping one day you will outsmart him; or BEAT him! But I don't think THAT will ever happen."
Now it was his turn to be embarrassed. "Well, al least I TRY to protect myself. YOU don't even put up a fight! You give in too easily! One day you are going to wish you knew. One day."
I gritted my teeth and looked away. He didn't even know what he was talking about. "Anyway," I said, going back to the original subject, "If you hate Ling so much then why don't you tell someone? Your mother is the true leader of the tribe. Tell her! Get a new chief!"
"It's not that easy you know," he said. "He… deserves his spot as chief. If not mentally, then physically. When my father died, all the eligible men from our tribe fought over who would become the chief. The first people that got an open cut and shed blood were automatically out. Then the last three men fought to their death. I didn't particularly like any of them, but Ling was the one I mostly disliked. My mother doesn't really either, but she didn't have any say in any of this."
"That's horrible!" I said, thoroughly disgusted. I couldn't believe it! But… I had to. As much as I didn't want to, I knew that Syaoran was telling the truth.
"He finished the last two off with magic. We didn't even know he possessed magic! Some people say that he cheated… or at least, they think it. They wouldn't DARE say it to his face! But… my mother has magic, and my father USED to have magic, so no one said anything and Ling became chief."
"I bet YOU were mad," I said, imagining perfectly what a little Syaoran would be doing when he found out.
"You have NO idea," he said, grinning wryly. "Lets just say that I avoided him and he avoided me as I got older. If we accidentally came face to face then I had a LOT to say to him. It was NOT a pretty sight. It was mainly verbal though. We wouldn't go as far as landing a kick or punch. Besides, others were always watching."
I sat there thinking this over. "That's not how we do things in my tribe. Sometimes we have arranged marriages, or your parents decide who your going to marry, but that is about it. The guy has to ask permission from the girl's parents. Sometimes the girl doesn't know about it, other times she does. There are a lot of happy and unhappy marriages. It all depends."
Syaoran nodded his head, understanding. "Either way, both of our ways stink."
"I couldn't agree more."
"Are you still hungry?" he asked.
"No. I'm fine. Thank you though."
Syaoran pushed the basket to the side. I could tell he was thinking about something… but what? His eyes didn't seem to reveal anything, then suddenly they softened and he almost laughed. I looked at him, confused.
"What is it?" I asked. When he didn't answer I asked more firmly, "What?!?"
"How old are you?"
This question took me by surprise. Thirteen. Why?"
"I just remembered the first time you were brought here, when you were captured. It was… ten years ago. You were three, going on four." His eyes held laughter in them. I glared at him, daring him to say his next few words. He took the dare. "You were so SCARED! You cried practically the WHOLE time! It seemed like you thought we were going to cook you up and eat you for dinner!" Now he was laughing, probably more at my made face than at the memory. Then I was taken aback. I had never seen Syaoran laugh in his whole entire life! This was new, and very surprising.
"Oh yeah! Well… I remember when WE captured YOU! You just turned four and you were screaming and yelling and putting up a huge fuss!"
"No, I didn't just turn four, I just turned three. That wasn't when you captured me either. That was when we still didn't do that sort of thing. The only way I stopped screaming was because of your… was because of your mom," he said quietly.
"I remember now. That was when my mother sang to us. We were both sitting on her lap and YOU were hogging all of the room!"
"I was only on one leg! YOU were on the other and you kept trying to push me off!"
"I did not! I NEVER pushed ANYONE! I was enjoying the song way too much to even notice!"
"So was I," he countered.
"Whatever," I said. Looking the other way so he wouldn't see the tears that threatened. I whimpered and held my breath. I did NOT want him to know that I was crying.
Then I felt his arms around me and I automatically stiffened. I was shaking, trying to hold it in but I couldn't hold it any longer. I broke down and rested my head on his shoulder, relaxing, and glad for the comfort.
"I'm sorry," He said at last. "I shouldn't have said anything. I'm so sorry."
I sobbed uncontrolably, getting his shirt soaking wet. " I miss her so much," I was finally able to choke out.
"I know what you mean. I miss my father more than anything in the entire world."
"Somethimes I wonder if it wouldn't be this way," I said softly. "If both tribes would get along." I pulled back, out of Syaoran's embrace. Or, at least as far back as I could go until I was against the totem pole. "Do you think our tribes would get along then?"
"I don't know. I don't know what caused us to act this way. It's influencing everyone in a bad way."
"You don't hate us… do you Syaoran?" I asked.
He looked at me and I couldn't read the expression on his face. He was silent for so long that I didn't think he was going to answer. "I don't know. I don't know what to believe."
I blinked, that hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt like I would shatter any moment into a million pieces. How could he say something like that? We were friends! Weren't we?
He stood up, grabbed the fruit basket, and strode over to the tent flap. "I will see you in the morning." With that, he ducked out into the star-lit sky, and then the flap swished closed behind him. I was all alone inside the tent. All alone. [AN: Allll byyyy myyyyyysellllffff!!!!! DON'T WANNA BE… Alllll byyyyyy myyyyyselllffff!!! ^-^ Couldn't help it. JadeWing got that song stuck inside my head because she was singing it ALL DAY LONG at school! '-_- Sorry about that.]
Why does Syaoran always have to be so tough? Was there something the Kinomoto tribe did a long time ago to make both tribes drift apart? Does he know about the past? WHAT AM I MISSING HERE?!?
I sighed. I DID remember when I was first captured. I WAS scared. But what did that have to do about anything?
~*Flashback*~
I was walking along the river, trying to balance on the rocks at the water's egde. I was three years old, my mother had passed away about six months ago. Then I heard a weird sound. It sounded like a wild animal! I almost lost my balance and fell into the raging river. Then a bunch of men surrounded me and one of them scooped me up and swung me over his shoulder. I cried and cried the whole time they carried me to where ever it was we were going, which happened to be the Li tribe's camp area.
They tied me up and put me in a dark tent. I was all alone and I continued to cry. I didn't know if I would ever see my daddy or big brother again.
Then a little boy walked in. He made a face and covered his ears when my screaming got too loud. I looked up at him, frightened. Then something looked familiar and I stopped crying, sniffing a little here and there. "Who are you?" I sniveled.
He uncovered his ears and I had to repeat my question.
"I'm Syaoran. Also called Little Wolf. Who are you?" He was glaring at me, making me feel very uncomfortable. Syaoran… I knew that name.
"I'm Sakura, also known as Cherry Blossom. Are you the boy that used too sit on my mommies lap with me when she used to sing?"
He looked at me with surprise, but quickly erased all trace of it off of his face. "Yes. That was me."
Ever since then I hadn't been that scared. Chief Ling and his wife Yelan came into the tent and saw us sitting together, talking. Chief Ling was furious, but Yelan just cave a little smile.
"You are your mother's child," she said, gazing into my eyes. I swallowed. I missed my mother. She was gone for almost a year now. Daddy said that she died and went to a better place. I wished that I was with her.
"Get Syaoran out of here! This CHERRY BLOSSOM is messing with his mind!" Chief Ling yelled through gritted teeth.
"She's not hurting him," Yelan said. "He quietened her. Look, she is no longer crying. I think that my Little Wolf should guard her from now on. It won't hurt anything." She turned and smiled at Syaoran and then me, then back at Syaoran once more.
"Yes. Syaoran will prove his loyalty to us by doing this. This will be his job from now on." With that said, he marched out of the tent.
Yelan sighed and shook her head. "Do not worry Little Wolf. He won't get the best of me!" She said, fire in her eyes. Then they softened and she looked at me once again. "I have a feeling that you two will become very close friends. Get to know eachother and see." Then she too, walked out of the tent, leaving Syaoran and I to sit and ponder what just happened.
~*End Of Flashback*~
'Were Syaoran and I close friends? Were we friends at all? I guess I'll have to wait and see. I don't think that I'll be going anywhere anytime soon.'
I sighed and then tried to get comfortable. Eventually I fell asleep, dreaming of the mother I rarely ever saw. What would she do if she were in my situation? What would she do if I knew she ALSO had magic, just like Yelan and Ling? What would she do… if she knew that I knew? Yes; because I have magic too.
Dun dun dun!!!!!!! Soooooooooooo……do you like it?!?!?!?!?!?!? PPPLLLEEEAAASSSSEEE tell me if you do or don't! FLAMES ARE WELCOME!!! I know you all want me to write to my other stories too, but I HAD to put this first chapter out there. Tell me which story you want me to write to. I'll start the next chapter to Melting A Stone Heart right now. Please don't be TOO mad! ^-^ heh heh. '-_- Well, I really do hope that you liked this. Tell me what you thought! Thank you!!!!!!!!!! ^___^
Lil' Indian Cherry Blossom
*****Sakura*****
Once again, my walk through the forest was more than I bargained for. My moccasin shoes padded along softly on the dry earth. I was humming a tune that my mother taught me a long time ago. That was before she died though. My mother, the chief's wife of the Kinomoto Tribe, died of a deadly fever when I was three years old. We later found out that Chang, the chief of the Li Tribe, died of the very same fever just a few days after.
The Li tribe and the Kinomoto tribe didn't get along very well after that for some very strange reason. I never knew why, or what happened, but something in the past must have happened to cause us to drift so far apart. Both chiefs and their wives got along ten years ago… so why didn't they now? What was that deep dark secret that was buried in the past?
If I hadn't had so much on my mind then I might have seen this coming. If I hadn't been humming the Kinomoto tribe's song then THEY might not have known that I was coming. I may have been able to walk by unnoticed. When I heard the all-famous wolf cry that the Li tribe made when about ready to attack, I froze. Why had I decided to wonder around all by myself?
"Capture her!" Came the lead warrior's voice.
I turned in circles, wide-eyed as I was surrounded by seven full-grown men of the Li tribe. They all had black war paint on their faces, and anger in their eyes. I backed up a step, then another. My village was more than five miles away, and I was in the thick of the woods. No one would be able to hear me as I shouted for help.
"Daaaaaaaaaad!" I yelled, regretting that I had come all this way. I backed up into one of the warriors and he held a hand tightly over my mouth. I tried kicking but another person grabbed both of my legs. They lifted me up and started to carry me away. I twisted this way and that, but they still held on. I finally stopped struggling, tears forming in the edges of my eyes. How come I was the one to always get caught?
We arrived at the Li tribe's after we exited the forest, crossed the river, and went down into the valley. I have been here before many times, all of them the exact same way. They capture me, the Chief's youngest child and daughter of the Kinomoto tribe, and get something in exchange. Usually it was how we would settle or solve disputes.
When the warriors passed other tents that belonged to the Li tribe, the people would come out and snigger, pointing at me. I glared at them, my throat tight and my eyes burning. They had no love or kindness in those dark, hateful hearts of theirs. No happiness or joy what-so-ever.
The warriors brought me to the middle tent that I learned by now was the chief's tent. Chief Ling came out of the tent flap and stood up straight and proud. A smirk crossed his face when he saw me. The men set me roughly on the ground in a kneeling position, holding my arms tightly behind my back. I looked up at the Chief through my bangs, glaring. His eyes were full of contempt.
"Well, little flower, it looks as if we have captured you once again. Are you ALWAYS this careless?" Chief Ling asked, crossing his arms over his chest and holding his head high.
"We? Who's we? YOU didn't do anything! YOU don't like getting your hands dirty! My brother…"
"Your brother is a pain in my rear end!" He snarled. [An: sorry, it's rated PG]
That shut me up, but not for long. "That's because you could never live up to him! My BROTHER is always the one to capture…"
"Enough! You are more trouble than you are worth! I don't know WHY they ever want you back!"
That stung. My lips started trembling, and my eyes filled with tears. I wouldn't let HIM get the best of me! Not EVER!
"Maybe they won't want me back! Maybe you wasted all of your precious time! Maybe…"
I was answered by that with a slap across the face. I wasn't very surprised, but I WAS angry! 'Who does he think he is?!?'
"Tie her up in the prisoners tent! She will not be eating tonight. Make sure Little Wolf guards her well."
I was dragged to a small tent about a hundred feet away from the chief's tent. They bound my hands and feet and then tied me to a totem pole. I leaned my head back against the pole and closed my eyes. I heard the warriors leave, but still didn't open my eyes. Tonight was going to be a VERY long night.
I dozed off for what seemed like only a few moments, but must have been a few hours because I awoke with a start when I heard a loud clatter. The tent flap was halfway open and I saw the darkened sky of twilight. A silhouette was closing the tent flap, the person's back to me. I wouldn't have been able to see who it was anyway because of the darkness, unless they were really close to my face. I vaugly saw the figure turn around. I was sitting on the ground so I couldn't really tell how tall the person was, therefore, I couldn't tell how old they were.
I realized that I fell asleep on my knees, and that my entire leg was tingling. [AN: Have you ever done that before? I have! It is NOT fun. You don't know whether to laugh or want to rip your leg off! It's horrible!] I struggled for a second, trying to get my legs out from under me. When I was finally sitting cross-legged I sighed with relief.
The person that was moving around in the tent froze. Then a quiet voice filled the tent.
"Sorry if I woke you." It came out just above a whisper.
"It's alright," I said softly, trying to figure out who else was in the tent. It was a masculine voice, and it sounded familiar. [An: Anyone got a guess? ^-^]
He came over and knelt down in front of me. I saw dark messy hair and light, honey-brown eyes. Syaoran. [AN: OF COURSE! ^-^ Who else?] I looked down and saw that he was carrying a little woven basket of berries. He must have followed my gaze because the next thing he said was, "I thought you might be hungry."
I looked up at him gratefully, and smiled. "Thank you, but… won't you get in trouble if they found out you were helping me?" I asked, meaning his tribe.
He scowled. "Fine. I just thought that you were hungry." He started to stand up.
"No. Wait!" I said, trying to reach out to stop him. I sighed when my hand wouldn't move because it was tied behind my back. Just then my stomach growled and I sweat dropped.
He stopped trying to stand back up and let out a soft, low laugh. It was bitter, but it was a laugh none-the-less. "I take it you ARE hungry?"
I nodded my head in defeat. He sat down across from me and put the basket between us. We sat there in silence for a little bit, unmoving. Then I realized that my hands were still tied behind my back and I hung my head.
"I guess I'm not so hungry after all," I said dryly. My stomach suggested otherwise with another loud grumble.
"I- I can… feed you the b-b-berries," Syaoran said in a quiet voice, not making eyecontact with me. "I-It'll be easier to eat."
I blushed, not knowing why. "Th-thank you."
Syaoran was hand feeding me black berries. I felt incredibly stupid, but after a while I loosened up and started a conversation.
"How long will it be this time?" I asked after swallowing another black berry.
"I don't know. It shouldn't be as long as the other time though. That was when you were here for a week. I'd say… two or three days."
I nodded my head. That sounded reasonable. "What do they want?" I asked. "Last time they wanted more of the river for fishing. What is it this time?"
Syaoran's face was grim. "It's more of what LING wants."
"Ling?" I asked. "Why don't you call him father? Or at least Chief Ling?"
He looked at me with disbelief in his eyes. "You don't get it because when your dad married, that person didn't become chief and have practically total control over the tribe. The day I call him father is the day I marry Meiling, and believe me, I'm not EVER going to marry Meiling! Not to be mean to HER… but to be mean to that so-called CHIEF!"
I raised my eyebrows. "You dislike him that much?" I knew that I hated his guts… but his own PEOPLE hated him?!?
"You have NO idea. You don't know the real him. You only see him on his good days where he doesn't want to rule the entire planet. Believe me, if you knew the real him, you wouldn't be so careless and get caught all the time."
"Me?!?" I exclaimed, turning red with embarrassment. "What about you? Touya ALWAYS captures you when asked, and only one time he came back with a scratch! YOU'RE the one who's careless! It's like you keep testing your limits, hoping one day you will outsmart him; or BEAT him! But I don't think THAT will ever happen."
Now it was his turn to be embarrassed. "Well, al least I TRY to protect myself. YOU don't even put up a fight! You give in too easily! One day you are going to wish you knew. One day."
I gritted my teeth and looked away. He didn't even know what he was talking about. "Anyway," I said, going back to the original subject, "If you hate Ling so much then why don't you tell someone? Your mother is the true leader of the tribe. Tell her! Get a new chief!"
"It's not that easy you know," he said. "He… deserves his spot as chief. If not mentally, then physically. When my father died, all the eligible men from our tribe fought over who would become the chief. The first people that got an open cut and shed blood were automatically out. Then the last three men fought to their death. I didn't particularly like any of them, but Ling was the one I mostly disliked. My mother doesn't really either, but she didn't have any say in any of this."
"That's horrible!" I said, thoroughly disgusted. I couldn't believe it! But… I had to. As much as I didn't want to, I knew that Syaoran was telling the truth.
"He finished the last two off with magic. We didn't even know he possessed magic! Some people say that he cheated… or at least, they think it. They wouldn't DARE say it to his face! But… my mother has magic, and my father USED to have magic, so no one said anything and Ling became chief."
"I bet YOU were mad," I said, imagining perfectly what a little Syaoran would be doing when he found out.
"You have NO idea," he said, grinning wryly. "Lets just say that I avoided him and he avoided me as I got older. If we accidentally came face to face then I had a LOT to say to him. It was NOT a pretty sight. It was mainly verbal though. We wouldn't go as far as landing a kick or punch. Besides, others were always watching."
I sat there thinking this over. "That's not how we do things in my tribe. Sometimes we have arranged marriages, or your parents decide who your going to marry, but that is about it. The guy has to ask permission from the girl's parents. Sometimes the girl doesn't know about it, other times she does. There are a lot of happy and unhappy marriages. It all depends."
Syaoran nodded his head, understanding. "Either way, both of our ways stink."
"I couldn't agree more."
"Are you still hungry?" he asked.
"No. I'm fine. Thank you though."
Syaoran pushed the basket to the side. I could tell he was thinking about something… but what? His eyes didn't seem to reveal anything, then suddenly they softened and he almost laughed. I looked at him, confused.
"What is it?" I asked. When he didn't answer I asked more firmly, "What?!?"
"How old are you?"
This question took me by surprise. Thirteen. Why?"
"I just remembered the first time you were brought here, when you were captured. It was… ten years ago. You were three, going on four." His eyes held laughter in them. I glared at him, daring him to say his next few words. He took the dare. "You were so SCARED! You cried practically the WHOLE time! It seemed like you thought we were going to cook you up and eat you for dinner!" Now he was laughing, probably more at my made face than at the memory. Then I was taken aback. I had never seen Syaoran laugh in his whole entire life! This was new, and very surprising.
"Oh yeah! Well… I remember when WE captured YOU! You just turned four and you were screaming and yelling and putting up a huge fuss!"
"No, I didn't just turn four, I just turned three. That wasn't when you captured me either. That was when we still didn't do that sort of thing. The only way I stopped screaming was because of your… was because of your mom," he said quietly.
"I remember now. That was when my mother sang to us. We were both sitting on her lap and YOU were hogging all of the room!"
"I was only on one leg! YOU were on the other and you kept trying to push me off!"
"I did not! I NEVER pushed ANYONE! I was enjoying the song way too much to even notice!"
"So was I," he countered.
"Whatever," I said. Looking the other way so he wouldn't see the tears that threatened. I whimpered and held my breath. I did NOT want him to know that I was crying.
Then I felt his arms around me and I automatically stiffened. I was shaking, trying to hold it in but I couldn't hold it any longer. I broke down and rested my head on his shoulder, relaxing, and glad for the comfort.
"I'm sorry," He said at last. "I shouldn't have said anything. I'm so sorry."
I sobbed uncontrolably, getting his shirt soaking wet. " I miss her so much," I was finally able to choke out.
"I know what you mean. I miss my father more than anything in the entire world."
"Somethimes I wonder if it wouldn't be this way," I said softly. "If both tribes would get along." I pulled back, out of Syaoran's embrace. Or, at least as far back as I could go until I was against the totem pole. "Do you think our tribes would get along then?"
"I don't know. I don't know what caused us to act this way. It's influencing everyone in a bad way."
"You don't hate us… do you Syaoran?" I asked.
He looked at me and I couldn't read the expression on his face. He was silent for so long that I didn't think he was going to answer. "I don't know. I don't know what to believe."
I blinked, that hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt like I would shatter any moment into a million pieces. How could he say something like that? We were friends! Weren't we?
He stood up, grabbed the fruit basket, and strode over to the tent flap. "I will see you in the morning." With that, he ducked out into the star-lit sky, and then the flap swished closed behind him. I was all alone inside the tent. All alone. [AN: Allll byyyy myyyyyysellllffff!!!!! DON'T WANNA BE… Alllll byyyyyy myyyyyselllffff!!! ^-^ Couldn't help it. JadeWing got that song stuck inside my head because she was singing it ALL DAY LONG at school! '-_- Sorry about that.]
Why does Syaoran always have to be so tough? Was there something the Kinomoto tribe did a long time ago to make both tribes drift apart? Does he know about the past? WHAT AM I MISSING HERE?!?
I sighed. I DID remember when I was first captured. I WAS scared. But what did that have to do about anything?
~*Flashback*~
I was walking along the river, trying to balance on the rocks at the water's egde. I was three years old, my mother had passed away about six months ago. Then I heard a weird sound. It sounded like a wild animal! I almost lost my balance and fell into the raging river. Then a bunch of men surrounded me and one of them scooped me up and swung me over his shoulder. I cried and cried the whole time they carried me to where ever it was we were going, which happened to be the Li tribe's camp area.
They tied me up and put me in a dark tent. I was all alone and I continued to cry. I didn't know if I would ever see my daddy or big brother again.
Then a little boy walked in. He made a face and covered his ears when my screaming got too loud. I looked up at him, frightened. Then something looked familiar and I stopped crying, sniffing a little here and there. "Who are you?" I sniveled.
He uncovered his ears and I had to repeat my question.
"I'm Syaoran. Also called Little Wolf. Who are you?" He was glaring at me, making me feel very uncomfortable. Syaoran… I knew that name.
"I'm Sakura, also known as Cherry Blossom. Are you the boy that used too sit on my mommies lap with me when she used to sing?"
He looked at me with surprise, but quickly erased all trace of it off of his face. "Yes. That was me."
Ever since then I hadn't been that scared. Chief Ling and his wife Yelan came into the tent and saw us sitting together, talking. Chief Ling was furious, but Yelan just cave a little smile.
"You are your mother's child," she said, gazing into my eyes. I swallowed. I missed my mother. She was gone for almost a year now. Daddy said that she died and went to a better place. I wished that I was with her.
"Get Syaoran out of here! This CHERRY BLOSSOM is messing with his mind!" Chief Ling yelled through gritted teeth.
"She's not hurting him," Yelan said. "He quietened her. Look, she is no longer crying. I think that my Little Wolf should guard her from now on. It won't hurt anything." She turned and smiled at Syaoran and then me, then back at Syaoran once more.
"Yes. Syaoran will prove his loyalty to us by doing this. This will be his job from now on." With that said, he marched out of the tent.
Yelan sighed and shook her head. "Do not worry Little Wolf. He won't get the best of me!" She said, fire in her eyes. Then they softened and she looked at me once again. "I have a feeling that you two will become very close friends. Get to know eachother and see." Then she too, walked out of the tent, leaving Syaoran and I to sit and ponder what just happened.
~*End Of Flashback*~
'Were Syaoran and I close friends? Were we friends at all? I guess I'll have to wait and see. I don't think that I'll be going anywhere anytime soon.'
I sighed and then tried to get comfortable. Eventually I fell asleep, dreaming of the mother I rarely ever saw. What would she do if she were in my situation? What would she do if I knew she ALSO had magic, just like Yelan and Ling? What would she do… if she knew that I knew? Yes; because I have magic too.
Dun dun dun!!!!!!! Soooooooooooo……do you like it?!?!?!?!?!?!? PPPLLLEEEAAASSSSEEE tell me if you do or don't! FLAMES ARE WELCOME!!! I know you all want me to write to my other stories too, but I HAD to put this first chapter out there. Tell me which story you want me to write to. I'll start the next chapter to Melting A Stone Heart right now. Please don't be TOO mad! ^-^ heh heh. '-_- Well, I really do hope that you liked this. Tell me what you thought! Thank you!!!!!!!!!! ^___^