Only Hope

Chapter One – the Stranger

by: Mel

e-mail: LightofFaeries@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: Don't own CCS

Sakura Kinomoto awakened to the songs of morning birds. Outside her window, the sky was a vast dusky canopy with winking stars. The moon hung heavy and low in the west, on the verge of disappearing.

Sakura sighed, then sat up and swung her feet to the floor. Standing up, she shivered slightly, away from the warmth of her blankets. Even though it was spring, the mornings were still chilly and sometimes cold.

Sakura looked out her window. The forest fairly glistened with morning dew that adorned every tree. Sakura had a sudden urge to go out. She padded silently down the stairs, taking care not to wake her brother or father. She went into the kitchen, wrote a quick note to her father, and grabbed some cheese and a hunk of bread, wrapping them up with a light-blue cloth and putting them in a basket. She also took a bottle of water, carefully placing it next to the cheese and bread. Then she tied a handkerchief around her head to keep her hair back and proceed to go out the kitchen door.

Once outside, she started across the field to the back gate that led into the forest. Her brother, Touya, and her had named it Dandelion Field when they were little because of the dandelions that would fill it in the summer. Sakura smiled at the memory. She remembered, the summer right before her mother had died, when Touya and her had been playing in the field.

The summer had seemed like it would never end. The days had been long and warm. Touya had taken little Sakura out to the field because she had wanted to see the butterflies.

Sakura remembered looking up at her big brother and asking, "Where are the butterflies?" Touya had just shook his head and swung their interlocked hands. Just then a breeze had blown over the field and had tossed dandelion seeds up into the air.

Touya, looking at the floating seeds, had said, "Mama said that you can make a wish if you blow all the seeds in one breath."

"Do wishes come true?" Sakura had asked.

"Maybe if you wish hard enough they do," Touya had replied.

They each picked a silver dandelion head, took a deep breath and blew as hard as they could. Sakura only blew half the seeds off while Touya had managed to blow them all off. Sakura looked with tearful eyes up at Touya. "They didn't come off," she wailed.

Touya had smiled and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry," he said, "Maybe next year."

Sakura had only nodded, fiercely wiping her tears away.

There had been no next year of wishes in the Dandelion Field. Sakura's mother had died that winter. Sakura shook her head as to clear the memory from her mind and opened the gate.

As she walked, the glistening grass of the field transformed into thick stands of fir and spruce. Sakura was now on the edge of the forest. The forest was an immense wood that grew thick and wild, with worn paths and roads that were often in conflict with their surroundings. It didn't take much for saplings to start growing in the middle of the paths and winter storms to blow them down, eventually obscuring the least used. The paths were also covered by rusty pine needles that softened Sakura's footfalls. She loved spending time in the forest and she knew it like the back of her hand. She would go there whenever she needed to be alone and just wander about for hours.

Sakura walked on for awhile until she came to a little river that ran through the middle of the forest. She smiled. She knew she was near her favorite willow that she had dubbed Thloeamaire which meant tears in Elves Speech. She had gone to that willow when her mother had died, thrown herself under it and cried. Now, she thought it would be the perfect place to put down her basket and go for a swim for the day had gotten steadily hotter.

As she neared the willow, she saw a dark lump beneath it's drooping branches. Sakura walked cautiously closer, then stopped with a soft gasp. The lump was a person. He was lying on his side with his face turned towards her. Blood dripped from his ears and nose. Though she was a little repulsed by the blood, Sakura approached and knelt by his side. She touched him gently to see if he was alive. Blood dripped down his mouth as he groaned softly. Sakura shut her eyes for a moment, fighting the urge to faint. Instead, she reached into her basket and unraveled the blue cloth that had been wrapped around the bread and cheese. Getting up and walking to the river a little ways from the willow, she dunked the cloth in the water. She then went back to the man and began to wash the blood off the man's face.

The man groaned again as his eyes slowly opened. They were blood-shot and unfocused. As he fought to focus them, Sakura asked, "Are you all right now? Do you think you can hold on while I go get help? And may I ask how you got this way?" The man shook his head with such extreme slowness that Sakura almost winced aloud with sympathy. He tried to talked, but only succeeded in having blood drip out of his mouth. Sakura hastily dabbed the blood away before plunging her hand into her basket and pulling out her bottle of water. Unscrewing the cap, she tipped the bottle so that the tiniest sliver of clear water flowed into the man's mouth.

The man gulped gratefully, then opened his mouth to speak again. This time, words came out besides blood. "Got caught…in a magic…duel. No one can…help me…now. L-look in…the bag…" he choked on his own blood and shuddered.

Only then did Sakura see what he had beside him. It was a colorful and beautifully woven bag made out of fine material. Sakura had never seen anything so fine in her. She looked again at the man. His clothes, though plain and stained with blood, was made from expensive looking fabric. Sakura realized he had to be a noble, or at least equally as rich to afford such clothing. She slowly reached her hand out to take the bag.

There was only one item inside. Curious, Sakura drew it out. It was a red-bound book with gold gilding long its edges. On the cover was a picture of a golden lion and beneath him, a golden sun. Above the lion were the words 'the Clow'. The book was held shut by a solid gold and intricately carved triangular buckle. Sakura knew the book had to have been extremely expensive. She traced the buckle, feeling the cool carved surface beneath her finger. Unseen forces seemed to urge her open the book. Sakura resisted, it wasn't her book so she had no right to open.

Sakura thought to draw her hand away, but instead, her hand reached down and unbuckled the book. She slowly pulled the cover back.

A white light emanated from the book. Sakura felt ghostly essences swirl and rush past her. She caught the images of some. A woman warped in leaves, flower petals, lightening, wings. Sakura felt caught up in a tornado that kept whirling faster and faster until all she could see was white. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it all stopped. Sakura looked down at the now open book. It was blank. She slowly closed the book. The lion on the cover was gone.

Sakura looked up. The man was gaping at her with suddenly focused eyes.

Author's Notes: Well, that's the second chapter. I hoped you all liked it! Syaoran and Tomoyo and everyone else will be coming in soon! Please keep reviewing!!!

Thanks to Sakura's Angel of Mercy, pinkuser, blue demon160, and Crystal for reviewing!! You guys are the best!