HAY GUYZ.

Okay. Explanation time. I started this fic about a million billion years ago (translation- about two years ago) and since I was only 13 at the time I thought, "WOW I GOOD WRITER", but going back on it now makes me cringe. Well, the first couple chapters, anyway. I PROMISE IT GETS BETTER. ;-; Basically I began writing this, got to a difficult part, and put it on hiatus for several months, where it lay untouched for far too long. Then I went back, edited like crazy (and it's still not satisfactory), and began writing again. I put off posting this, insisting I wanted it finished before it was posted anywhere, but I decided I don't want to wait any longer, because I'm dreadfully impatient.

PLEASE ENJOY MY STORY. Also, please ignore typos, as I don't have a spell-check or anything like that on this computer...

-Chapter One-

With a whirr of feathers, four travelers and a manju bun felt their feet touch solid ground. It was very foggy, and no one could see more than five feet away from them. Even after just moments in the fog, three of the travelers were shivering-- it was intensely, bitingly cold. Fai was first to notice a light coming toward them, bobbing up and down in the rhythm of the carrier's steps.

"Is someone there?" called the young woman just barely visible through the dense air.

"Yes, we are!" Fai answered, waving his arms above his head. "Who might you be?"

"Just what I was going to-- Fai Flowrite!!"

The woman had a look of utmost shock plastered on her face, and stopped moving toward them, completely aghast. Fai seemed equally stunned.

"G-Guenevere?!"

Guenevere's shock seemed to evaporate, leaving nothing but hatred, disgust, and-- as odd as it seemed, as Fai usually evoked this feeling last from people-- sadness.

"What the hell are you doing here?! You bastard--" Fai quickly bent to cover Sakura's virgin ears, "--deserting us like that, especially at the time of greatest need!! And taking down the entire Sirian army? Are you insane?!" Guenevere nearly shouted. She looked like she was going to continue storming at him, but instead, she took a deep breath and forced a smile. Fai uncovered Sakura's ears, although hesitantly. Guenevere broke the awkward silence by murmering, "Well, if you've come back to us, you might as well come with me. Come on, all of you, I've got tea on." And she turned on her heel and stormed through the forest, motioning for the others to follow her.

"And stay near me, please, or you'll get lost in this wretched fog."

Fai was too shocked to object, but simply shook his head and followed the young woman, Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona, and Kurogane.

At the woman's small cottage, after a short introduction, each of the newcomers was given a hot cup of strong tea. Guenevere sighed.

"I'm sorry for acting so rough to Fai, and using-- well-- rather innapropriate language," she said, staring into the fire, the small room's only source of light. The room itself, the living room, was indeed small for having to house five people and Mokona, as opposed to only Guenevere.

"I-It's no problem," said Syaoran. "It was obviously a real shock to see Fai-san."

"You've no idea," said Gwen coldly, glaring at the magician from across the room.

Sakura, in need of a nap, had curled up on the chaise lounge. Syaoran wasn't far behind, and after she noticed him nodding off, Gwen directed everyone to the rooms she could spare. There were two guest rooms, and Sakura and Syaoran were to share a room, while Kuro and Fai could share the other. Kurogane also had an early night, which meant that Fai and Guenevere were left sitting by the fire sipping their tea, Fai on the carpet, and Gwen stretched out luxuriously on the newly vacated chaise.

"Sooo..." said Fai, clearly uncomfortable. He looked at his hands, his cup resting near his left foot. He was very close to the hearth, and in his fidgety state started drawing absentmindedly in the thin layer of soot with his black gloves. Gwen herself was wearing something very similar to him, which was apparant as soon as everyone had gotten a good look at her. In fact, they wore almost the same outfit, with some very minor details different than the other's. Her shirt was white and ice blue, like Fai's, and was designed in almost a nearly identical way, complete with the same gloves. She had been wearing a thick cloak like Fai's too, also white, blue, and black.

Gwen sighed. "Fai... It's been a long time. Six months, if I do believe I'm right."

"Mmmm."

Guenevire took a sip of her sweet tea. "I turned twenty while you were away."

"Well.. Happy belated birthday, then, I s'pose."

An awkward silence passed between them, but Fai couldn't help asking the question burning at his mind.

"Why are you wearing magician's clothing?"

Gwen grinned and laughed darkly. "I thought it would have been obvious. Since you betrayed and left us, the kingdom needed a new Wizard. Or Witch, in my case."

Fai didn't know how to respond to this. As long as he could remember, he had trained up to be the kingdom's Wizard, and at twenty one he had managed that feat. However, not a month later the castle had met corruption and attack, and Fai had been forced to leave. Not until he was twenty one was he good enough, and yet this girl had become the Witch at twenty. Twenty. Well, nineteen, if she had turned twenty after she had become Witch. She probably had. It must have been around November or so, and he had left in... May. Or April, he couldn't remember. But still, it was astounding. Little Gwen must have improved greatly while he was away.

"What are you staring at?"

Gwen was looking at him over her teacup, an annoyed frown on her face.

Fai shook himself mentally and tore his eyes away from the lovely young woman to his left. "Nothing. Just thinking about how much you've grown up since I left you."

And for the first time that night, Gwen smiled a real smile.

"I could never resist you when you'd say things like that to me." She paused, and the hesitantly asked, "Why do you say them now?"

Fai shrugged, and placed another log on the fire. "I guess an old flame never truly dies."

Gwen felt hot tears pricking at the corners of her eyes that probably had something to do with the billow of smoke that suddenly poured into the living room as Fai accidentally closed the flue.

"Shut up. You shouldn't talk like that anymore."

"And why would that be?"

Gwen sighed. "Seresu... Is not as safe as it once used to be."

Fai was undeniably curious, and straightened up. Gwen yawned widely and readjusted herself on the couch before continuing.

"After you left us-- in a very inconvenient time, I might add-- it turns out that King Ashura had been put into a magical sleep." Suddenly, Fai became intensely uncomfortable. He doubted that Gwen knew it was him, that he himself had put Ashura into that sleep. "Well, we knew that you had managed to take out enough of their armies, and we thought that we had a victory in the bag. Only problem is, someone put Ashura under that sleep, and since you had left us, we had no one that could legally perform enough magic to defeat their armies." She paused to take another sip of her tea. "We lost the war, obviously."

"What?!"

"Yep. We lost it. We were under the Sirian's control."

"But you're still Witch, this placelooks no different from how it did when I left--"

"That's because it isn't different. Not long after, I organised a revolution, and we revolted against the Sirians, and with my magic we were able to defeat them. However, we do not have a king. Just me. I've been running this country by myself."

"But that doesn't tell me why it's not safe here," Fai insisted.

"Fine, fine. You see, ever since we beat them, those idiot Sirians have been sneaking around our towns with disguise spells on them, playing the parts of innocent Seresu villagers. Mostly they've been trying to imitate people close to me to-- " Gwen's eyes grew wide-- "Wait a moment. How do I know I'm speaking to the real Fai Flowrite? Your sudden arrival is very suspicious."

Fai smiled softly. "Would you care to test me?"

Gwen grinned evilly. "Oh no, that's not a problem. Just take of your shirt."

Fai seemed to know what was coming and proceeded to strip down to his pants and boots, a slightly apprehensive look on his face. "Well?" he asked.

"Turn around. I need to see your back." Fai did so, more grudgingly than ever. Gwen, as soon as his back was to her, ran her fingers across his skin, murmuring something that sounded like a song. He knew what would happen and was not looking forward to it, but the spell was so soothing... Like a lullaby... And before Fai knew what he was doing, he had fallen back with his head resting in the Witch's lap, fast asleep. His lips were parted slightly, and the young lady suddenly couldn't help but be glad to see him again. Gwen smiled. "Yep, that's him all right." She hesitated, but grinned mischievously. "Maybe I'll just check anyway..." And with that, she leaned down and ran a finger over his stomach, down to the waistline of his pants. She had to pull down the right side to see it properly, and what his reaction would be if he were concious made her have to cover her mouth with a hand as to not burst out laughing. It really was very enjoyable, making fun of Fai. Anyway, there was a tiny birthmark in the shape of a cat's head there. Gwen had always thought it was very cute. She knew that no one besides Fai, herself, and Fai's parents knew about it, and since his parents had long since passed away, she knew that no one could have told the Sirians about it. The only way a Sirian could fully impersonate him was to have that birthmark, and the only way they could have that birthmark was to know it was there. As for the spell she had put on him, it was a very simple test. Every inhabitant of Seresu had the innability to stay awake if that spell was put on them, and since it was such a simple spell to perform, mothers had no problem putting their children to sleep at night. Every other person who hadn't been born in Seresu was completely unaffected by it.

Then she noticed that Fai's tattoo had gone. It had been there when he had been Wizard, and she knew that had been applied by Ashura as an enhancer of Fai's natural gift for magic. She supposed that it must have just disappeared when he lost his official title of Wizard. Ashura was obviously asleep, and was thus not able to apply the pheonix to her own back, so she didn't know for sure what happened if the title of Wizard was revoked. Usually most people served their term until death anyway, so she didn't have any reference anyway.

Jerking Guenevere out of her thoughts, Fai suddenly woke up, very groggy. "You didn't need to use that spell so powerfully on me. Now I have a terrible headache," Fai play-moaned, throwing an arm theatrically over his forehead and staring up at her pitifully, mouth in an adorable pout. Gwen giggled and poked his nose. "Well, I had to check. Imagine giving information like that to a Sirian. They'd have an immediate way of getting to me, wouldn't they?"

"How so?"

Gwen sighed and used her delicate fingers to brush his hair out of his eyes. His hair was almost as pale as hers, and they had the same hint of curls. Her eyes almost perfectly matched his, the same pale, icy blue colour. Their skin was obviously very similar, seeing as they were from the same country, the same world. Since Fai had been travelling through different worlds, his skin wasn't quite the same ghostly pale as hers, and it was weird seeing how very pale she was after looking upon the dark, tanned skin of Kurogane for so long. Even Sakura looked tan compared to the alabaster mage before him. Had he stayed in Seresu, he knew, their skin would have been the same pale porcelain. Hers complexion was so fair, in fact, that he knew it must be winter here, when the sun very rarely would shine on them. He suddenly knew how very cold it must be outside. Fai waited for her answer, all the while studying her face. He hadn't seen it in such a long time.

"Oh, Fai," she said softly, "You know why."

She averted her eyes. Fai frowned skeptically. He didn't want to get his hopes up, in case...

"What did you see me as, might I ask?" asked Fai hesitantly, trying to sound as if this was a throw-away question of no real importance to him.

Guenevere hesitated for a moment, but said, "A wonderful teacher... And a wonderful friend." Indeed, Fai himself had become Gwen's tutor in magic, since the previous Wizard had passed away and Fai had taken his place.

Fai sighed. "Is... that all?"

Gwen couldn't answer him. "Here, let's sit on the floor and I'll feed you the rest of your tea."

"No thanks, I'm not feeling well." It was true, but it wasn't fully because of the spell.

"Rubbish, you're drinking it whether you want to or not," she said, her voice suddenly brisk, like it had been before the sensitive subjects they had covered. "I've put a heating spell on it, we seem to be having an even colder winter than usual. You could freeze if you went outside right now, without the proper spells and clothing." Sure enough, Fai glanced at the window and saw that it had started snowing outside, and that the window itself seemed to be layered in ice.

"Now I'm getting down onto the floor, so you have to sit up for a moment." Fai did so, and Gwen was able to set herself gracefully be the hearth, her legs crossed. While she did this, he replaced his shirt, clasping it with slightly pink cheeks. She pulled Fai toward her and he rested his head on her lap again, crossing his arms. She took his cup and waved her hand through the air. A spoon appeared, and she started spooning the tea into his mouth. They would occasionally say something, like a joke, to lighten the time they were spending together, but it was mostly quiet.

"Hey..." said Fai, just noticing something, "Your ears... They're pointed..."

Gwen grinned and felt them. "Yes. I had totransfigure myself. It seems the one thing the Sirians can't copy onto themselves are pointed ears. Pretty silly, really. And since I'm possibly the most important Seresen in the entire country, being Witch and partial Queen and all that, it's vital that I'm not copied in order to mislead villagers. This way everyone can feel safe that they're truly talking to me."

"Should I transfigure mine too? Just in case?"

Guenevire giggled. "No, I've got my own way of recognizing you." She noticed Fai looking at her questioningly, and laughed. "Your mark is still there."

For a moment, Fai thought she was referring to the mark that Yuuko had taken as payment, but then remembered what she was referring to. "You looked? There?!" A dark blush crept onto his ivory cheeks.

Gwen laughed and spooned more tea into his open mouth, making him choke slightly as he wasn't expecting it, but swallowed and stared incredulously at her. "I can't believe you actually looked... Nonetheless remembered..."

"Of course I would remember, it's so cute!" She giggled again and spooned more tea into his mouth. Some spilled onto his skin that time, and obviously it burned him, because he gasped and rubbed the tea off. It left a slight burn mark, and so Gwen gently placed her pointer finger onto it, and murmured something before Fai felt the pain leave his cheek. He didn't know where it had gone until he saw the same burn on her finger, which she had obviously absorbed his burn into. He took her hand and scrutinuzed the burn.

"Doesn't it hurt you? Why did you do that?" Fai asked.

"Yes it hurts, but only a little," she said soothingly. "Besides, it was my fault that you got burned in the first place. The tea isn't hot to the mouth, but it is to bare skin. And why would I want to marr your beautiful face?" Gwen teased. "Don't worry, I'll live," she added hastily, as he looked somewhat upset. But surprisingly, so surprisingly that she almost dropped the teacup, he took her finger into his mouth. He sucked and licked her burn gently, and it was her turn to blush crimson.

"Wh-why did you d-do that?" she asked, as he started wrapping her finger in a piece of cloth torn from his handkerchief.

"Come now, Guenevere, you were once the Healer's apprentice, you know that saliva is the best burn salve." (A/N: I don't know if this is true, I just heard it somewhere.)

"Yes, but I could've... Could've done it myself..." she said, still blushing furiously.

"Oh, but how else would I get to see you blush so brightly?" he said teasingly. She stopping blushing so hard, and instead grinned and pretended to slap him.

"Honestly! Doing something like that just to make a fool of someone! The Witch, nonetheless--"

She was caught by surprise again as Fai took her head in his hands, pulled her down, and kissed her.

How long the kiss lasted, she wasn't sure, but it felt like an eternity. It was a very innocent kiss, like how one would kiss their mother goodnight, but at the same time it was almost overwhelming. When he finally let her go, he sat up and drained his cup, his back to her, and softly said, "Thanks for the tea," before standing and heading into the hallway and into his room.

Guenevere simply sat stupefied for a moment, absorbed in her own thoughts. She stood up shakily and went to her bedroom, then changed into her nightclothes. Snuggling under her blankets, she yawned again and soon fell into an uneasy sleep.

Fai was in his room with Mokona. The little ball of fluff was asleep on his pillow, and the ninja in the bed opposite his was fast asleep as well. Fai gently woke Mokona.

"Akyew?" mumbled the tiny creature, looking at Fai. "What is it, Fai?"

"Mokona.. Do you... Please, can you get us out of here?" Mokona looked confused.

"Why does Fai want to leave? Does he not like this world?"

"It's... Please, can we go?" begged Fai, scooping Moko-chan into his hands.

"Mokona is sorry... Mokona can feel the feather in this world. We will have to stay here to get it." Fai smiled the fakest smile to date.

"Alright. Sorry I woke you. Goodnight, Mokona."

"Goodnight, Fai."

-End Chapter One-

UGH.

Please don't let an abysmal first chapter keep you from reading more... xDD;

Comments are loved:3