Forbidden Relationships

by

nexa alex


Full Summary:

"You have... my name... in your chest..."

With each word I was more embarrassed. Syaoran locked our eyes, before saying:

"There has been a long time since I keep you within my heart. And the time of telling it to the world is coming."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter II ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Ages

(in the beginning of the first chapter, after that I'm only going to refer to Sakura age):

Lord Fujitaka Kinomoto: 39 years.

Lady Nadeshiko Kinomoto: 36 years.

Touya Kinomoto: 16 years.

Ryuu Kinomoto: 14 years.

Eriol Kinomoto: 13 years.

Yukito Kinomoto: 9 years

Yue Kinomoto: 9 years.

Sakura Kinomoto: 5 years.

Syaoran Li: 13 and a half.


There will always be a memory I will keep while I live: the face of a little girl, reflected in the water surface, with long auburn hair, falling to the pinkish face, eyes shining more than the stars and a smile telling a happiness only childhood can have. Then, the distortion; the chaos coming from the strong waves that my brothers provoked, ripping the water with vigorous his fathoms; the harmony broken, lost forever; the silence desecrated by the loud sound of laughter and exaltation of euphoria... the sweet sound of freedom.

"Come 'Kura!" They screamed almost in unison "Come!"

Who could resist? A blink of an eye was enough for me to take off my light and colourful summer dress and dive fearless in the river. Immediately, I had become surrounded by a dozen of arms, a dozen of legs… six boys fighting to hold my slim body, build it up in the air and involved it in a no ending of plays, which made me laugh until I cried.

We would stay there until the sun disappeared, diving, swimming, playing, or just laying down on the waterfront, telling stories and jokes, talking about home, talking about the house, the family, the farm, the workers, the animals... A lot of times, we just stayed quiet, contemplating the blue sky through the canopy of tall trees, breathing the soft and perfumed air, listening to the delicate sounds of the wild, supplanted by all the beauty and magic that involved us and protected. We were the children of the forest, children of the earth, children of the river, children of the lake, children of the Sun and Air.

We were happy.

When it started to get dark, Touya took the lead and reminded us that it was time to return home. We did not hear a protest. Nobody challenged the authority of the older brother. Then, Ryuu would raise me in his arms and sat me on his shoulders, carrying me piggyback with the same ease as carrying a little lamb. I would hold my legs by force, under his arms, and embraced him by the neck. I loved when my brother ran and the wind hit me in the face, barely allowing me to breathe. Delirious with a sense of pure and full freedom, this entered me and it allowed me to feel myself full of life.

Just in front of the Big House I was recalled that Syaoran was not our brother. I was sad when he waved farewell and ran to the stables. I did not understood why he couldn't join us, share our table, as he shared the tricks and lived in our hearts. I could not understand...

At the age of five, I lived perfectly shielded of evil in the world.

The Sacred Forest was our sanctuary, our refuge, our home. We grew up within its embrace, sharing secrets, laughter and tears. We knew every tree, every rock, every warren and hiding of animals that inhabit it. The forest of oak protected us. We respected its greatness and appreciate the protection. No tree was cut randomly, no animals hunted unnecessarily. There was, among ours, a deep respect for nature. We grew up loving the earth as a mother.

There were several towns over the Big Island, each governed by a valiant lord, but none as powerful and prosperous as the Lord Fujitaka Kinomoto. Vigorous warriors, well armed and vigilant, could be confused with the forest as if they were trees, transforms the fields of his master in a territory impregnable.

The Village of Lake was implanted in the heart of the forest, along the banks of the Enchanted Lake. It was there that the various streams of pure springs that fed the Big Island had merged and formed a circle of water so crystalline that reflected the sky. Later, the current strength earned in a single arm ripping the forest is registered as city patrimony by rocky cliff, diving into the sea. Throughout the domain extension of Kinomoto, the land was fertile as any other and the fish so abundant that we could almost catch them with our own hands.

A little away from the fuss of the village, was the place of Kinomoto's. There the family lived, the employees of Big House and the farm. Not far away, at a distance of a call, were the premises of the soldiers, which were multiplied by strategic points inside the forest. Despite the difficult times in which we lived, there was no sign of anxiety or apprehension. Our people felt protected by the virtue of the forest and the intricate, haughty and inaccessible cliffs, in the far south, which ended abruptly in an infinite extent of sea wild. And if the geography alone was not enough as fortress, Lord Fujitaka ensured strong alliances with neighbours. These alliances took him much time and attention, so we rarely saw our father, and the image that I kept of him was that of a man as great as severe. I loved him as far as I feared him and, while I wished on his return, every time he travelled I cherish his absences, because my brothers were once more available for our games.

My mother was the most beautiful woman in the world and I was full of pride when somebody said that we were more like each day. For me, Lady Nadeshiko was not only a mother, a companion, a friend, but was also a goddess, the source where we get all the strength. My mother was not limited as the lady of the house she also coordinated the work of the homestead in the absence of my father. She had a big heart and in her free time she helped those who depended on her. The admiration and love for my mother were shared by all, even by villagers who resorted to their aid when someone suffered from some decease. For helper she had our nanny, the tireless Bretta, a woman as big as a mountain and as strong as an oak, but with hands of a fairy and words of honey in times of distress. I stood aside, anxious to help, without bothering me with the mutter of the incessant Bretta, about how inappropriate it was my presence, believing I should be learning to sew and embroider; fortunately, my mother was a decided woman. She answered her that in the future, I would be a healer much more skilful than her own, and that it was important to start to get used to the spines of the job, as well as the sweet rewards.

When I wasn't with my mother, I was with my brothers. I was the youngest of six and the only girl. Being treated as an equal by the boys was a source of pride and vanity. Their strength was my strength, and I believed we were inseparable and indestructible.

Touya was eleven years older than me. At sixteen, he was a perfect man, much like our father, tall and strong, with broad shoulders, powerful arms and legs. His dark brown hair was as rebel as mine, but he stuck them firmly behind the head, which he stressed the severity of expression and determination of dark eyes. Ever since he was very young he was fully aware of the weight of his inheritance. Maybe because of that he was devoted to issues as the farm and custody, to the detriment of our games.

Next was Ryuu, with two years' difference of Touya. Physically, they were very similar, but had completely different personalities. If Touya was the method and harmony, Ryuu was the storm, fire, a constant boiling cauldron. There was in him a passion for life, the nature and the world, which extended beyond us. Deep in our heart's we knew we could never hold him back. Ryuu was independent, adventurous and too impulsive to administer the affairs of the property. Thanks to him, we knew every grain of land that surrounded us. However, this was not enough. His spirit yearned for new discoveries, for adventures beyond the endless sea. He dreamed with his eyes open and only then could survive the monotony of our day.

Eriol was born a year after Ryuu. Older people said that his personality was as solid as the mountain that kept the forest. Never opened his mouth without thinking very well about what to say, therefore, never was wrong. His words were full of wisdom and contemplation. Sometimes it seemed expressed by puzzles, and I did not reach the depth of his thoughts. From all my brothers, he was the one I less knew and also was the one that fascinated me most. Curiously, he was also the one that most closely resembled me, small and skinny, with long hair, but dark, alive and expressive bright eyes, but his were dark blue. Eriol could spend the day on the banks of the stream, sitting in a large stone that we called "Stone of the Wiser" with closed eyes, breathing very slowly as if asleep. However, we knew that his mind was in intensive activity. If the older brothers built the world with their hands, he dissect it inside the head, getting logical explanations for all phenomena's that we thought indecipherable and at the same time, doing things that none of us could explain. He was a genius.

Four years after Eriol, the twins were born, Yue and Yukito, same as drops of water, my companions favoured for fun. When watching these brothers, I saw a balance. The spirit of Yukito was similar to Touya, and of Yue with Eriol. Whenever I could, was these brothers company I searched for. Yukito followed Touya as a faithful dog, goggle eyes of admiration to fleece training in the handling of weapons, itching to become as smart and strong as the firstborn. For his part, Yue runs up to Eriol and, invariably, finds him meditating or studying the books that daily collection – annotations, poems, drawings and maps, gifts for travellers, traders and friends visiting the property. Finally, after five boys, I was born, Sakura Kinomoto, small and tricky, completely cut off from any subject fit for a girl. Under the guidance of my brothers, I learned to fish, to hunt, climb, to swim, to ride a horse and handle some weapons, though with little or no skill. Touya, Ryuu and Yukito had fun with my curiosity and perseverance. When I was tired, I sit down near Eriol and Yue. It was with them I learned to read, write, to count the names of stars, why the day has to succeed with nights, the rhythm of the tides, the history of my country and the stories of other people, including the strange and dangerous people, which was approaching the coast in large and fast wooden boats, moved by a single square sail.

But our group was only complete with Syaoran...

Syaoran…

Syaoran was the son of the master of arms of my father. His mother died while giving birth, begging to Lady Nadeshiko to take care of her child. Ryuu was a baby in her lap by that time, and my mother was already pregnant with Eriol. When I was born I learned to devote the same love to Syaoran that devoted to the others. He was my brother, and I did not accept that anyone said the opposite. Besides when we were together, it was impossible to say that we didn't share the same blood as the harmony that prevailed among us. Only those who look with more careful eyes, did realize that the necklace of Syaoran was different.

My grandmother died young, just after the death of my grandfather. The heritage left to his only daughter was a beautiful necklace, but without any value. Lady Nadeshiko grew and then fall in love with a man, practical and rude, a non-believer in the ancient religion. Lord Fujitaka was a lord of war, believed only in the force of his sword. Just as he took note of the popular belief that involved the family of his wife and the necklace, he forbade any mention of the subject. To avoid the displeasure of her husband, Lady Nadeshiko divided the seven stones of her necklace by her children. Touya was the first to receive the green with a wire fabric made by the own hands of their mother. Ryuu received the red, Eriol the white, Yue the yellow, violet to Yukito, and I the blue one. The seventh remained guarded and was orange.

Because Syaoran couldn't have a necklace like ours, I dove into the enchanted lake until I found the most perfect stone, full of shafts of many colours. My mother agreed to make the lead and Syaoran vowed that he would never again take it off his neck. After all, his charm had all the colours; had a bit of each one of us.


End of Chapter Two


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