Author's Notes: A Modern Fantasy Tale based on Beauty and the Beast.

In advance, I have to tell you that some names and relationships have been changed slightly for the sake of the story. Also, I'm only using the Clow Cards that I think would work for how I've portrayed them.


It wasn't Ruby's first time using her father's Clow, Fly. In the past few weeks, her father, Eriol Reed, Head of the Clan, had made her and her mother, Kaho, practice using it often. Sometimes it was for hours on end so that they would be ready for this mission. Ruby couldn't exactly say she was completely okay with the whole idea of what they were about to do. Their target was a little kid, but her father said they had to do it now, before he grew more proficient at using his Clows. And as he was the Head of the Clan, she was bound to do what he said as a Reed herself.

The night was quiet around them as it was late but not quite midnight. Her parents knew it was unlikely they would find the Li estate completely asleep at any time, day or night. Ruby was aware of this. The animosity between the three Clow families ran too deep for them to be any kind of vulnerable. Especially between the Reed Clan and the Li Dynasty, as the Amamiya Family tended to be the most neutral.

Yet, the only sound Ruby could hear was the swooshing beat of their wings. They flew close enough together that they could see one another. But the three of them remained far enough apart so that they wouldn't run into each other mid-flight. It had been a long journey here, almost halfway around the world. True, they flew on a plane for the larger part of the trip; they were only using Eriol's Clow for the last leg of it. They had a good plan of infiltration, despite the unknowns. Ruby hoped they would be too grief-stricken to follow them. Their escape had always been the biggest flaw. But her father had insisted that the reward would be worth the risk.

The large estate of the Li Dynasty came into view. Ruby descended down to the ground inside the walls alongside her parents. They hoped they were far enough away from the manor house not to be noticed. As soon as they had their footing, the wings disappeared in what appeared to be white whirls of wind. The white whirls gathered on Eriol's right shoulder, forming into a small being. Ruby knew that her father had recalled his Clow back into its original form.

In this form, Fly was a small white bird with a long neck like a swan and long feathers sticking out of the top of its head. Its eyes were completely blue, and its beak was short and sharp. Ruby knew that the bird could grow large enough to ride on if Eriol wished it. A moment later, the bird disappeared, returning to the nether space where Clows wait.

Ruby looked up at her father and took a minute to study him. He was a tall man with blue-black hair. Rounded square glasses covered his determined blue-grey eyes. There was a tight set to his jaw that revealed the emotions he wrapped tight within himself. Still, Ruby couldn't even begin to tell exactly what those emotions were. Her mother had her worry and distress displayed in her light brown eyes and the tight set of her lips. She trailed an uneasy hand through her auburn hair. It was a color that Ruby almost inherited herself but far browner than her mother. Ruby did have the same brown eyes as well, if a few shades darker.

"Eriol, are you sure that we should do this?" Kaho questioned him again. She glanced up at the house before returning her gaze to her husband.

Ruby looked back and forth between her parents, remaining silent. After all, she had some misgivings about the mission herself. Kaho and Ruby both watched Eriol as they waited for his answer. Finally, her father nodded, the tenseness in his jaw releasing as he spoke. "They'll use him against us," Eriol stated. "You know they've been waiting for a chance like this for centuries, Kaho."

Kaho hesitated for another second before she nodded. Sadness and regret filled her eyes, but Ruby didn't know whether she directed them at the mission or Eriol. "I doubt Yelan will be affected for very long," Kaho reminded them, as she had countless times before. "You'll only have minutes to do it."

Eriol and Ruby nodded; Ruby's a little more apprehensive than her father. Yelan Li was a powerful Clow holder. It was possible she was more powerful than any of them except for Eriol. Those with more magical power than you were harder to affect with your Clow, especially one of Kaho's type. Their plan relied on Kaho's Clow working for at least some time against Yelan and the rest of the house.

Eriol closed his eyes and a tiny woman, no bigger than the length of his hand, appeared in front of him. She had on a long flowing gown with long wide sleeves and a slit on one side of her skirt all the way up to her hips. A large oval blue jewel was imbedded on the center of her forehead, and she had large round earrings in her lobes. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail almost on the top of her head with two circles above the tie and one single long thin tail that went all the way down to her feet. In her hand, she held a paper-thin silvery black disk. Ruby knew that it was another one of her father's Clows, Through.

A moment later, another Clow appeared, this time in front of Kaho. It was a small old man, covered in a cloak, except for his face which had a long-crooked nose at the very center of it. His ears ended in long thin points that went well past the edges of his hood. On his forehead were brown markings. Floating about his hands was an hourglass, full of tumbling sand. It was her mother's Clow, Time, which she didn't often call out because of the vast magical power it consumed when used. All Clows took a physical and magical toll on their users—some more than others. How much time and rest it took to recover depended on the amount of magical energy used. Her mother could be in recovery for a week if she used Time for as long as she could.

"Come along, Ruby," Eriol said as he grabbed her hand, and they began running to the house.

Behind them, she heard her mother call out, "Time!" Except for a rare few, a Clow's power could not be activated without first calling out their name. Once their name was called, the Clow would be able to perceive its master's will without being told.

Around Eriol and Ruby, the world took on a golden cast as everything froze around them thanks to the power of Time. If they were lucky, they would be the only ones unaffected by the Clow, as per Kaho's will. The two of them reached the walls of the house and didn't stop running. They walked right through them, thanks to the power of Eriol's Clow, which he activated by calling its name. Nothing stood in their way as they ran past the frozen people inside the house.

They found the room they were looking for, which held only one small sleeping occupant. Ruby and Eriol approached the side of the bed. "Oh, Father, he's so cute and adorable," Ruby bubbled, giving her first impression of the four-year-old Syaoran Li.

"Ruby, that's not important," Eriol admonished, but Ruby could hear the amused cord in his tone.

"Sorry, Father," Ruby said not quite repentant. When they heard the rustling of the bed sheets, they both turned their gaze back to the boy in the bed. Ruby's eyes widened in surprise. "Father, he's not frozen," Ruby said completely shocked as the boy sat up, rubbing his eyes. She might have worried that her mother's magic had worn out, but the world around them was still silent and golden. Ruby didn't know how it was possible that he would have been completely unaffected by Time.

Syaoran seemed to wake up a little more as his hand fell, and his expression turned hard when he looked at the two of them. "Who are you?" the little boy demanded standing up on his bed. Ruby was again surprised, this time by the authority and confidence in that young voice. "You don't belong here."

Before Ruby's eyes, two Clows appeared next to the boy. Both Clows were small beautiful regal women with stares like ice. One of the women was almost completely white with long glorious curling hair. A tall crown circled her white locks. Her dress had a dipping neckline that trailed down to her stomach with black along its lines. The gown broke up off her shoulders and surrounded her neck like a crown. On her chest, beneath her neck, there was a jewel that appeared to look like a golden sunburst. In one hand, she held a glowing sun, while the other held a living cloud.

The other woman was the first's polar opposite as she was almost completely black. Her dress cut in the exact same as the white woman's, except that it was black with white lines along its edges. Around her neck was a ring of silvery black jewels. Her hair was long and straight with a color as black as midnight. The same white crown adorned her head, giving a stark contrast to her ebony hair. In one hand, she held a radiant crescent moon and the other held a bright star.

Ruby knew that these two women were the Attribute Clows Light and Dark, two of the most powerful Clows in existence. Only the Elemental Clows—Windy, Watery, Firey, and Earthy—rivaled their power. The amount of people who had partnered with the Attributes could be counted on one hand. This was in part due to the amount of raw magical power needed to support even one of them. They were the only Clows that had to be partnered to one person at the same time. That was the other reason that so few had possessed them. Light and Dark could not be separated from each other—it was impossible. The fact that they were Syaoran's Clows gave a sign of how much power the little boy had.

And that was the very reason Ruby and Eriol were standing in his room now. Ruby knew that her father feared that one day the Li Dynasty would use Syaoran against them. He could not let that happen to their family. No matter what the cost was to be.

Eriol chuckled low in his throat as he reached into his pocket. "Do it now, Ruby," he ordered. He closed the distance between himself and the boy. Before Syaoran had the chance to call out his Clows' names and activate them.

"All right, Father," Ruby answered. The tiniest bit of reluctance held her as she called out her own Clow to complete her own part in this mission.


Yelan Li glanced around her off balance. The world had a golden sheen to it, and her husband stood frozen in front of her mid-sentence. She devised in a moment that someone must by using the Clow Time. But she hadn't even known anyone partnered that Clow. Yelan had no way of even knowing if she herself had been frozen or how long it had stopped her if it had. She knew she had to have more magical power than the person using it. That was the only way she wouldn't be under the influence of the Clow at the moment.

She wondered what they could be after. The house held many priceless artifacts, but none that held much worth to Yelan. The Clows they possessed were the true treasures of the Li Dynasty, and those could not be stolen by any means.

The dream her Clow had bestowed the night before came back with startling clarity. Though it was the only Clow that could use its power without the will of its partner and one of the few whose power could be used without calling out its name, Dream didn't often take the initiative, except when someone close to Yelan was in danger. Yelan had been worried all day, trying to figure out what it meant and who was in danger. Now, she was afraid that she had figured it out.

The strange warped color to the world faded, and her husband began talking again. But Yelan didn't hear him. She pushed past him, hiking the skirt of her kimono up to her knees as she started to run. Her husband called out her name, but she didn't stop, wishing she had her sister's Clow Dash.

She startled servants as she passed them, most of them never having seen her run before. Wei called out, "Lady Yelan!" But still she did not stop, hoping she would be time. She had to be on time. She could hear his quick steps behind her and was thankful for it. She could trust Wei.

Yelan finally reached her destination and came to a halt. Her hand was trembling as it reached for the handle. She hoped she would find him sleeping inside, as she had left him a few hours ago. She opened the door and let out a piercing cry at what met her eyes.

Her Syaoran, her little baby boy, lay lifeless on the ground. His amber eyes gave the appearance of being made of glass as they seemed to be staring into nothing.

Yelan walked over and kneeled next to him, reaching out her shaking hand to close his eyes. She heard Wei's voice, full of compassion and sorrow, behind her say, "Oh, Lady Yelan…"

She reached out her arms and gathered the small boy in them. She pulled him close as silent tears trailed down her cheeks.


Nadeshiko Kinomoto hummed in the garden as she worked in it. Her Clow Flower hovered around her, using her power when a plant needed a little help. Flower was a fun-loving gentle Clow with white hair in two corkscrew pigtails. She wore a long pink ball gown dress with flower bracelets and earrings. On her forehead and chest were pink flower-patterned symbols. Flower was as enthusiastic as Nadeshiko in the garden.

Nadeshiko looked up from her garden. Her quiet nonsensical song stopped as she found herself looking at her usually bright and energetic daughter. Sakura sat on the lawn, staring out across the road without a peep. The cherry blossoms on the trees in the streets were beautiful to look at. But usually Sakura would be running around under the falling petals.

Worried, Nadeshiko dismissed Flower as she walked over to her daughter. As she got closer, she noticed one of Sakura's Clows, Windy, hovering over one shoulder. Windy had long elegant yellow hair with a large green wing-like pattern flowing out from the center of her forehead. She had golden wings hanging from her shoulders. Windy was one of the mildest and gentlest Clows, despite being one of the most powerful. She was easy for Sakura to control even at her young age. But the fact that Sakura had her Clow out at all gave Nadeshiko a wary feeling that all was not well. Sakura rarely called out her Clows.

"Sakura," she coaxed as she kneeled down next to her.

Sakura's smile was quick and cheerful as she turned her emerald gaze to her mother. "Good morning, Mommy!"

She was so much like her usual self that Nadeshiko almost pushed away the feeling that something was wrong. Still, she pressed on as she trailed her fingers through Sakura's light brown hair. "Is everything all right, dear? Has Toya been teasing you again?"

Sakura giggled. "No, Mommy," she said. "I'm okay, but I think something bad happened somewhere else. Somewhere far away. I dreamed about it last night," she finished as her gaze took on a glazed look as she stared back out at the cherry trees.

Nadeshiko was not surprised to know that her daughter had sensed something that happened to someone far away. Clow Bearers with powerful magic, like Sakura, could feel things about those they were connected to, such as family. Nadeshiko began to worry about her family. She hadn't had contact with them since she ran away with Fujitaka over a decade ago. Masaki Amamiya—her father—and Sonomi—her sister—hadn't approved of the marriage. But she had been so in love with him that in the moment she hadn't cared. Her father had made it very clear that she would not be welcomed back if she returned.

Then again, Sakura could have sensed something that had happened to Fujitaka's family. Nadeshiko didn't know them at all because she had never seen them and Fujitaka did not talk about them. Her husband had left his family a long time ago, but they were still family and connected to Sakura by those ties.

"Do you think there's something I could do to help?" Sakura asked.

Nadeshiko smiled at her as she said, "I think that as long as you are yourself, everything will be all right." She finished by tapping the tip of Sakura's nose in affection, which caused the little girl to collapse in giggles.

The young girl then ran down the lawn, flung out her arms, and called, "Windy!" The tiny fairy woman flew out into the trees, causing the pink petals to fall around her with a gentle wind. Sakura twirled and laughed around in the pink rain. Nadeshiko watched her daughter with a content smile on her face.