Visions of Snow White - A New Trials of Cardcaptor Sakura and Friends Tribute by Wish-chan (ET-ish)
a/n: Please think of it as an AU side story of sorts for New Trials!
He saw her from a distance, standing in a garden, right under a single apple tree. He was facing her profile, and all he could see was long tresses of dark hair gathered over one shoulder. In her very pale arms, contrasted by the blue coloring of her sleeveless dress, she carried a bunch of pale, white roses. So numerous were the roses that he could even smell them in his dream. She was gazing up at the tree, as if mesmerized by the bright red color of its fruit.
She then looked at him, and a smile graced her colored lips as she briefly turned her attention to the flowers in her arms.
"..."
Huh? What did she say again?
"Look, aren't these lovely?"
...
"Edward-sama?"
"Hm?" Edward Cleau Reed opened his eyes and blinked a few times, "Mika…?"
"I'm sorry to have waken you, but you looked troubled in your sleep. Did you have a bad dream?"
It was then that he was reminded that he had been reading out in the garden earlier, just after breakfast. Judging by the current position of the sun in the sky, he must have fallen asleep at some point.
"No… it wasn't a bad dream, I think. I saw a woman in my dream. She had really long dark hair and..."
Edward trailed off, "And what else?"
Mika tilted her head, "Your mother?"
The young man furrowed his brows as he tried to recall his dream again. Surely he would have known if he saw his mother. He sighed as he gave up his attempts. For some reason, he could only recall the basic descriptions, like her long dark hair, pale arms, and red lips—but he couldn't exactly remember her face. What color were her eyes? Or the exact shade of her hair?
"Edward-sama?"
Upon seeing the worried looking on her face, Edward gave her a reassuring smile.
"You do not need to worry Mika. It could be my mother, as you have guessed. Or perhaps it may be someone I'll encounter in the future."'
"Clow?"
"I saw her again."
"The woman in the garden?"
The man nodded, "For a while, I thought it might have been my mother... or even you at one point, but it's very likely someone else."
Clow closed his eyes, trying to conjure up the memory of his dream, just like he had done over the years. The woman in his dreams had a different air about her, different from all the dark-haired, paled skinned women he has met over the years.
"Besides, neither of you would have called me—" Clow cut himself off and tried to recall his dream again, only to realize that he couldn't remember what the woman in his dream had called him. He was certain that she didn't call him Edward, or Clow—it was a different name altogether. What was that name?
"Are you sure that you weren't seeing a vision of Snow White?"
Clow Reed smiled wryly, "What business would some fairytale princess have with my dreams?"
"Well, you always described her as such: dark hair, pale skin, red lips. Sounds every bit like Snow White to me. I'd reckon that she must be quite the beauty, except you don't remember enough of her to confirm that."
But she is a beauty. Clow just didn't understand why it is that he would forget as soon as he woke up. And the more he thought about it, the less he remembered.
"You know," The magician turned to his companion when she spoke again, "I'm sure that I have something here that may help. An object that can capture her image in your dream, or something to help you actually remember her face when you're awake. It comes with a price of course."
Clow appeared thoughtful as he considered his companion's offer, but in the end he shook his head.
"I'll pass. I'm sure that there's a reason for all of this. I'll meet her when the time is right."
His companion smiled, "Let's hope she doesn't get poisoned or captured before that happens."
"Snow White?"
Kaho brushed her fingertips against the weathered page of the hardcover book that had been left open on the desk. She smiled at the illustration of the final scene of the fairytale, "This one's a rather tame version too. Didn't you always prefer the original, morbid, and more macabre versions of the fairytales?"
Eriol had stopped his current task of packing away his books to look over his shoulder to where she was standing, "It was a gift that Clow Reed received from a friend."
Kaho nodded as she turned back the pages. She paused at a page that had an illustration of the story's main character in a forest with various animals, "The illustrations in this book are very beautiful."
"Yes, the illustrations and tame storyline were the main reason why this particular version was given to him."
He could tell, even without looking at her, that she was interested in hearing the story behind this book. But since she didn't ask, the boy continued his work.
Eriol hadn't thought about that woman that Edward Cleau Reed, or Clow Reed, had seen in his dreams. In this current lifetime, Hiiragizawa Eriol did not dream of the "Snow White"-like woman. Up until a few days ago, he had been occupied with the final task he was to give the Card Mistress, and now that things have finally settled down, he is busy once again in preparation for his return to England.
It wasn't until earlier this morning, when he came across the book that he thought of that woman again, this "Snow White". Eriol had tried to recall those strange dreams that his previous self would often have, and he wasn't at all surprised that he still couldn't remember what she looked like aside from those basic descriptions that Clow clung to over the years.
Dark hair, pale arms, red lips. A fair lady in a magnificently blue dress standing under a single apple tree. And she carried about her a grace that was best described as ethereal.
Even to this day, Eriol hasn't met anyone that resembled that woman from Clow's dreams.
"Thank you so much for coming over so last minute Eriol-kun!" Sakura exclaimed as she brought out a tray of teas and cookies to set on the table.
"It's no problem Sakura-san." Eriol answered as he received a cup of tea from her, "But I am curious. Don't you normally ask Tomoyo-san for help with these things?"
"Do you remember the birthday party that her mother is hosting? Something came up suddenly and Tomoyo-chan had to go run errands with her. She felt really bad that she had to cancel, but I told her I'd be able to handle it on my own."
There was going to be a birthday party for Sakura's maternal great grandfather next week, and in honor of that, Daidouji Sonomi was going to host a party at one of their family's vacation estates. Sakura and Tomoyo were asked to invite their friends from school, and since Tomoyo was going to sing that night, Eriol had been asked to be her accompanist.
"So what was it that you needed help with making?"
"Oh! Let me show you, over here."
Sakura walked over to her dining area, and Eriol followed her to the table where she pointed to a page on the magazine that was sitting there.
"Hmmm… a fruit tart?"
"Yep! I wanted to make something for my great-grandfather since he likes sweets! This was actually Chiharu-chan's magazine and she was showing me another recipe when I saw…" By then, Eriol had already stopped paying attention to the rest of Sakura's story. Instead, he was staring intently at the photo frame sitting on the dining table.
"Eriol-kun?"
"So it was your mother…"
"Hoe?"
He turned towards Sakura, and realized what had just happened.
"Ah, I'm sorry, it's just that for a very, very long time I, or rather, Clow Reed used to always have dreams of this woman."
"Clow-san had these dreams?"
"Yes," Eriol nodded, "Earlier too, before he took on the name of Clow Reed."
Sakura tilted her head to the side, "And he didn't know who she was all this time?"
"No. Initially he thought that might have been his mother, since the woman in his dreams looked vaguely like her, and she was always carrying a bunch of roses in her arms. They looked like the roses that Li Shulin had taken care of—like the ones in my garden. Someone once made a joke that he was having dreams of Snow White based on the descriptions he had of her."
"Ah, you mean the black hair, white skin and red lips?"
"Yes, but Clow knew it wasn't quite like that—whether it was her hair, skin or lips, something was still a little off; she even sounded different too. But whenever he was awake, he could never fully picture her, or recall her voice."
"Hmmm..."
"I'm surprised that it never clicked in my mind before, until I saw this today."
Eriol reached for the photo frame that featured Nadeshiko wearing a blue dress and carrying a bouquet of white roses in her arms.
"She definitely resembles the woman he saw in his dreams; the dress looks almost the same."
"Then it must be my mother then," Sakura pointed to a logo on the dress, "This was a custom-made dress. It was a gift she received to celebrate her sixteenth birthday."
"And now the mystery has finally been solved."
"So this whole time, you—Clow-san dreamt of my mother?"
"It did cross my mind that I would meet her someday, since Clow never did, but at the same time I suppose things that happen in dreams don't always transpire in quite the same way. Although I did not get to meet her in person, your father found her. And for that, I am happy."
"Well, more like 'caught' her." Sakura answered with a giggle.
"Eriol-kun!" Sakura greeted him at the entrance, "Wow, your suit looks great on you!"
"Thank you," Eriol smiled as he adjusted his black tie so that it settled neatly behind the collar of his blue shirt, "I'm sure someone will be glad to see how beautifully you're dressed up tonight."
Sakura blushed a deep red and stammered, "Right, you're here early!"
"Tomoyo-san asked for one more rehearsal before we started, so I came early."
The girl nodded, "Ah, Tomoyo-chan told me she wanted to find something to add to a centerpiece so she should be out in the garden. I have something else to take care of right now, but I can lead you up to the entrance."
"I'm sorry for the trouble Sakura-san."
"No no! It's okay!" Sakura grinned as she led the way to the garden. During their walk, they talked about the party, and which of their classmates would be showing up tonight. Chiharu, Takashi, Naoko, and Rika were coming together, Kai had taken Meilin out for a date (then they were supposed to meet up with Syaoran so they could help Meilin dress-shop for tonight). Eron had mentioned convincing Erika to come as well, in hopes that she'd be interested in meeting people. Even Miho was going to come and she was going to bring her parents, Kaho and Nakuru too.
"We're here!" Sakura pointed at a path, "If you follow that path, you'll reach a bridge; the rest of the garden is on the other side and Tomoyo-chan should be there. I'll see you later Eriol-kun!"
Eriol waved as Sakura quickly headed towards the direction they had just came from. He stepped out into the garden and started walking along the path that Sakura had pointed out to him.
"This is a huge garden indeed," Eriol thought to himself as he crossed the bridge and was met with a giant fountain. He heard a distant humming, and even with the sound of the running fountain, he could pick out Tomoyo's voice. He recognized the melody as one of the songs she will be singing tonight, however, just as she was in the middle of the chorus, the humming had suddenly ceased. Curious, he slowly walked around the fountain, and stopped when he saw her.
Right under a lone apple tree, Tomoyo stood there in a flowing, sleeveless blue dress. Her wavy dark hair had a few braids that were intricately weaved into a sideswept style over one shoulder. And in her pale arms, she was carrying a bunch of white roses, similar to the ones from his own garden.
She was gazing up at the tree, as if mesmerized by the apple's bright red color, which matched the lipstick she wore.
Suddenly, a familiar image had flashed in Eriol's mind. The dream from his memories of the woman in blue resurfaced in his mind. Of course, it wasn't Clow's mother, or any of the other women from that lifetime—that he had already concluded. But, it wasn't even Amamiya Nadeshiko.
It wasn't until he heard a soft "Oh" that he locked eyes with her.
"Eriol-kun," Tomoyo smiled before shifting her gaze to the roses in her arms, "Look, aren't these lovely?"
"Eriol-kun. Look, aren't these lovely?"
The distant voice from his memory startled him. Why was it that he didn't remember the details until now? The color of her eyes, the sound of her voice... both of which he had been so familiar with all this time. The memories of these dreams were just so clear to him right now, the image like a beautiful oil painting in a museum. He wondered why his former self had always forgotten them.
This realization caused a part of him to feel somewhat silly and stunned at the same time.
"Tomoyo-san… your dress. Where did…" Eriol found himself at loss for words.
"Oh, this?" Tomoyo looked down at her outfit, "This was a gift from my great-grandfather. He had it especially custom-made as a birthday gift for me. He said he did the same for my mother, and Sakura-chan's mother too. I just never had the opportunity to wear it until today."
The girl smoothed her free arm over the soft material of her dress before reaching up to tuck a few loose strands of her hair behind an ear, "I must admit though, for someone always making dresses for others and myself, it's a rare treat to be on the receiving end. This dress is quite different from what I usually wear and this makeup too—but my mother insisted..."
It's true, he had rarely seen her wearing this much makeup, so it had surprised him at how different she looked. It made her look more like a young woman than a teenager.
"Eriol-kun?"
He shifted his gaze as he looked to the roses that she had in her arm.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying about these roses again?"
"Oh, right." Her face was slightly flushed as she wrapped her free arm around the bundle and readjusted her hold on them. "I saw these in my great-grandfather's garden and I thought they would look nice for one of the centerpieces tonight. And then I saw these apples here and I sort of got distracted thinking of another costume concept for the Alliance!"
"Something harvest-themed?"
"Actually, I was thinking of something more fairytale-inspired."
Eriol couldn't help put chuckle.
"That sounds like an interesting idea." He walked towards her and reached a hand out to take the flowers from her, which she did. After he secured the bundle in one arm, he turned and offered his free arm to her. Tomoyo smiled shyly as she rested her hand at the bend of his elbow.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to be thinking of Snow White, did you?" He could tell by the twinkle in her eyes and her brightened smile that he got it right.
Dreams… they can be such fascinating and strange things indeed. It still remains a mystery as to why Edward Cleau Reed had these recurring dreams of a girl who would live centuries after his time, but for now, Hiiragizawa Eriol has a rehearsal to attend to.
a/n: I originally meant to complete this in time for NT Day or Tomoyo's birthday or Wish-chan's birthday even, but grad school has kept me really busy. I'm still not 100% satisfied with part of it and how I ended it, but at this point, it was something I needed to just get out of the way, or it would get in the way of my schoolwork. I will probably find time to edit this XD
Anyways, if it's confusing to anyone, each major part focuses on a different point of Eriol's life/previous life. So we had [Part 1] Edward Cleau Reed in his younger years, [Part 2] Clow Reed during his adult years (I'll give you 3 guesses as to who his companion was at that time!), [Part 3] younger Eriol during the end of the original CCS series, and [Part 4] teenage Eriol during NT time! I don't know how this actually fits into the actual NT timeline since we haven't reach the autumn of Sakura's 16th year yet, which is why this should just be viewed as some AU/standalone side story. I was trying to fit in some occasion for Tomoyo to get all glamoured up and settled for her great grandfather's birthday (November 1 for anime and November 18 for manga!).
I'm a huge ET fan and because of CLAMP's vast universe, thanks to TRC/xxxHOLiC, there's a part of me that believes that there's some world out there where ET can be official XD
11/06 (Edited again: minor minor tweaks)