Black Magic

Chapter Four:

Secrets

Before he knew it, Syaoran had been a guest at the palace for over a month. In that time he'd healed considerably, made good friends with a majority of the palace maids, and had gotten a feel for the general layout of the castle. He'd bumped into the royal couple more often than he liked.

These days, Eriol never left Sakura's side and it made it nearly impossible for Syaoran to even greet her. The moment he opened his mouth to speak she was whisked away in a flurry of finely tailored garments. Supposedly the official announcement of their engagement was to be made soon and it seemed like their outfits became gradually more refined as the day of the announcement drew closer.

Even the palace maids became unbearably busy. Syaoran who had taken to roaming the corridors regularly found himself in a state of shock when suddenly every hallway had become clogged with servants attempting to go in every direction.

Eventually it got to the point where it was safer to wait in his room and ring for Tomoyo when he wanted company. But, Tomoyo was busy too and couldn't come as often, she was the princess' personal maid after all. Syaoran couldn't believe he'd forgotten. Tomoyo had become someone he expected to have around all the time, but lately with her having to tend to Sakura-hime he saw her less. He had to admit, he was lonely.

One day while he was dodging servants that were running around the halls, as was becoming normal these days, Syaoran found himself in the royal wing where the queen was housed. Although Eriol and Sakura were members of the royal family they had rooms in a different wing as a form of respect towards Queen Yelan. Normally her husband and blood relatives would live in this wing with her, but as her husband was dead, and her daughters had all been married off to wealthy dukes and princes, it was empty. Only the great queen lived in these quarters, sequestered away from the prying eyes of those she ruled.

As he thought about it, Syaoran realized just how much royalty is in the limelight all the time. Even their private chambers were never truly private. Maids and other servants were constantly in and out checking up on her and abiding by her every unspoken command. She could order them all away, but that would bring a bad image to herself.

If anyone was good at masking their emotions it had to be those in power. The people they were with often seemed to determine the type of emotion they were willing to reveal. Syaoran had noticed that when the queen was alone with the princess, and only trusted servants around there was a friendly atmosphere between the two, almost like they were really mother and daughter. When she was with Eriol however she seemed strangely sad as if she were trying to save him from something with words unsaid. In the face of her people no matter if it's a servant or your average commoner she treated each and every one with fairness, and kindness. Then, there was the way she treated Syaoran. The way she looked at him sometimes, or the barest of smiles that'd grace her lips when she saw him unexpectedly, gave off a motherly vibe. At times she made him feel like an adopted member of the royal family.

Of course that was foolhardy. Prince Eriol made it perfectly clear that he wanted Syaoran out of the palace as fast as he could kill a man. After their private session together Syaoran figured Eriol could kill just about as fast as he could blink. Prince Moody had made it plain that he didn't accept Syaoran's presence within the palace and wished him gone.

Syaoran's stomach did a little flip when he realized that Eriol would soon have the authority to kick him out of the palace entirely. His only hope to stay in the palace was the influence Queen Yelan and Princess Sakura wielded for his sake.

Sakura… Syaoran stopped pacing as her name echoed in his head. After a moment he shook his head in an attempt to clear it and looked around. While he'd been thinking, he'd walked all the way down to the Reception Room. The Reception Room was just beyond the grand staircase and was a vast room where the Queen greeted foreign dignitaries and other important guests. The tile floor was decorated with spark rock, a magical rock that held certain amplification properties that a lot of magicians used in their spell work. Syaoran imagined that the spark rock embedded in the floor, walls, and ceiling probably held some form of a protection charm. Since this was a room where highly important individuals came to meet and discuss, it would need to be heavily guarded against terrorism and magical attack. It also made sense for a highly magical family to have spark rock around to amplify their powers in case of emergency.

Syaoran scrunched his forehead. Something was strange though. As far back as he could remember the castle had never been attacked. No wars were ever fought in the magical kingdom of Clow. They were always used as powerful allies that provided supernatural support to whichever side was right. In the past if neither side was correct and the kingdom of Clow saw the war as pointless and then they immediately withdrew from the situation and shortly after the war would end.

According to history, Clow was a kingdom to be feared and respected, to imagine that someone would have the gall to attack the palace, the home of the greatest powers in the kingdom, was ludicrous. However, the fact that magical protection was in place was a sure sign that the royal family felt that an attack was possible. Just as he approached the throne a voice called out to him, "Syaoran, what are you doing in here?"

He spun around to find Tomoyo carrying what looked like a very heavy load of fabric easily in one hand. She had her head cocked to the side, looking at him quizzically. Syaoran relaxed as soon as he saw her and sighed, "I was looking for you."

Tomoyo laughed lightly, "I'm sure. What are you doing in here? I know it's crazy out there, but I don't think the Reception Room is the best place to hide."

Syaoran scratched the back of his head and shrugged his shoulders, "I get bored in my room. There's not much to do there by myself."

Tomoyo giggled suddenly at his remark and Syaoran tilted his head in confusion. Tomoyo readily dismissed him, "It's nothing, but I understand how you could get bored. I'll bring you something to pass the time shortly. I just need to finish delivering this to the maids that are working on some of the royal couple's special appearance attire."

Syaoran caught a light hint of blush on Tomoyo's cheeks after her surprising burst of laughter, but decided it best not to press her. "That'd be nice. Thank you Tomoyo."

"Oh, for what?" Tomoyo waved off his thanks. "Sakura-hime's been bored out of her mind as well. For as busy as the rest of the palace is, she seems to find time to be perfectly bored with speech practice, etiquette review, and a thousand other classes that Eriol-ouji asked the Queen to teach her."

An indescribable emotion filled Syaoran as he asked, "Why did he ask for that? Isn't that too much?"

Tomoyo sighed and grabbed Syaoran's arm with her free hand. She led him back out in to the havoc of the corridors. "Listen Syaoran. I know what you mean, but Sakura-hime has learned a lot since she entered the palace and she's a quick study. She can learn things faster than the average person." Tomoyo reassured him while dodging the occasional armful of laundry, or stack of trays.

"But, surely that's too much. And why would Eriol ask for Sakura to be the one to receive tutorage? Shouldn't it be Eriol that receives all of these extra classes?" Syaoran asked, but Tomoyo refused to answer.

She continued to tug Syaoran along until they reached the residential quarters, where fewer servants were allowed and pulled him off to the side in the shelter of two imposing suits of armor. Even though the corridor was practically empty in comparison to the main hallways, Tomoyo looked around to see if anyone was near enough to eavesdrop on their conversation. Seemingly satisfied Tomoyo continued in hushed tones, "Eriol received plenty of tutorage after he entered the palace, Sakura-hime on the other hand had been left alone. Originally she was only meant as a guest in the palace so no one bothered tutoring her."

"Guest? I thought she was born in the palace." Syaoran whispered baffled by what Tomoyo was saying.

Realizing that she may have said too much Tomoyo bit her lip and took hold of Syaoran's arm again, "At any rate, it is not for us to question the choices of the Queen or the Princess. We are servants and guests of a magnificent household. It is wise not to ask too many questions."

XXXXX

Sakura let out a loud sigh. She'd been holding it in all day. Tutor after tutor had come to her chambers, arms laden with all forms of reading material in subjects ranging from the arts to mathematics, to political science and its effect on current situations, all seemed useless except the latter. This was too much for one person to take on, but Eriol had insisted that she'd be able to handle the workload. Although she was starting to doubt the possibility, she tried putting a little faith in Eriol's words and tackled some remaining finance work one of her tutors had assigned her.

Just as she had read over the first problem, a knock came at her door. Fearful that it would be another wave of tutors to teach her about things that she didn't wish to learn, she called meekly, "Come in."

The door opened, and a maid with short, curling dark hair stepped in. She curtsied and fixed the princess with her lovely chestnut eyes. "Excuse me Your Highness; I know you're working on your studies." The maid apologized, her voice laced with a tinge of worry, afraid to interrupt Sakura's study time.

"Rika-chan!" Sakura exclaimed, pushing her assignment away and throwing her hands up in excitement. "You have no idea how excited I am to see you. Eriol keeps me locked up doing work all day!" she whined, knowing Rika would let her get away with it.

A soft smile spread across Rika's face as she walked over to the princess. "You know Eriol is pushing you because he believes in you. Hang in there Sakura-hime." Rika encouraged the pouting princess with a pat on the back.

Sakura glanced up at her friend. Rika's presence was always calming. Unlike Sakura, Rika always acted very mature and had a pure and calm demeanor about her. There were a few times when Sakura wondered if she should switch places with Rika, since Rika would make a marvelous princess. Although, the amount of trouble Sakura could get into as a servant made the idea slightly less appealing.

Feeling defeated, Sakura let out a sigh, "Rika-chan, where has Tomoyo-chan been lately? I haven't seen her around as much." To emphasize her point Sakura looked around her room, besides the four poster canopy bed, the walls of bookshelves, the large bay windows, and her desk the room was almost bare. In the corner, near the windows there was a wardrobe stuffed full with bits of lace and silk fabric peeking out between the double doors. Next to the wardrobe was a mannequin with a half-finished dress hanging off in swirls of emerald and white poplin. It was Tomoyo's station within her room. Sakura had spent many hours standing over by the mannequin suffering through multiple fittings, and measurements while Tomoyo poked and prodded her with pins and measuring tape. Without Tomoyo's constant squeals of delight while she rambled on about the new designs she wanted to make for Sakura, the room felt quiet and lonely.

"Tomoyo-chan has been keeping our guest busy and out of harm's way. With everyone preparing for your engagement announcement the halls have become a bit dangerous to walk through." Rika explained. She took the brush off Sakura's dresser and brushed at the princess's hair while she talked. Several times throughout the day, Sakura had become frustrated for one reason or another and had taken the stress out on her hair. The beautiful curls and pins that Rika had carefully placed in Sakura's hair earlier that day were falling out in tangled bits. Rika took all of the pins out and brushed through Sakura's hair.

Sakura smiled and closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of the brush running gently through her hair before asking, "And how is Syaoran? I've wanted to stop by, but Eriol has me so busy that I've barely had time to breathe."

Rika chuckled at Sakura's enthusiasm and explained, "Well, that's a question you'll have to ask Tomoyo. I'm afraid I haven't really seen Syaoran for more than a few minutes, and in most cases Tomoyo has him by the arm. You know how demanding she can be. Although, I think he's been bored." Sakura turned her head slightly to peek at Rika around her hair, a quizzical expression spread across her features. "What I mean is, when he first entered the palace you were constantly around and Tomoyo had tons of free time. People were around him all the time, and when they weren't he was able to walk the halls without being run over. Now, because of how busy the palace is with your engagement announcement approaching," Sakura blushed as Rika mentioned the embarrassing ceremony that was coming up in just a few short days. "I think he's been bored cooped up in his room by himself. I know he's tried exploring the palace a few times, but someone usually finds him and sends him back to his room."

Rika set the brush down and pulled Sakura's hair back into a half ponytail with a clip, keeping it out of her face while she finished her homework. Sakura stared at the pile of papers in front of her and groaned inwardly. As she thought about all the homework she had to do she thought about a book that she had been reading a little bit of each night. The thought gave her an idea. "Rika-chan, I think I have a solution for Syaoran's boredom."

"Oh? You've thought of an idea?" Rika asked, surprised as always at how Sakura was always willing to help someone else no matter what her situation was.

Sakura nodded, a grin slowly spreading across her face, "I think you should introduce Syaoran to Naoko-chan."

XXXXX

"Come on, Syaoran, and be careful. There are stacks of fabric, tableware, and cleaning supplies walking the halls and we don't want to trip anyone." Tomoyo warned as they trotted down the vast corridors of the palace.

Tomorrow was the long awaited announcement and if at all possible the palace had gotten even busier. There was to be a formal speech in front of the citizens, and then an after-party consisting of dignitaries from all over the world were invited to attend. The pressure was on the palace staff to make the castle sparkle for the important guests.

As they rounded another corner a pretty maid with curling dark hair and a peaceful aura around her stood waiting. "Syaoran, this is Rika-chan. She'll be escorting you the rest of the way, I would normally guide you all the way there myself, but with the announcement tomorrow I have several things that need to get done. One of which includes Sakura-hime's dress for tomorrow. So, Rika will look after you from here." Tomoyo explained all of this in a rush and then hurried off in the direction of Sakura-hime's quarters.

A little shy, Syaoran turned to Rika and offered a hesitant smile. She returned the greeting, and gestured down the hall, "Shall we?"

Syaoran nodded and followed his new guide. At the end of the hallway were tall double doors that mismatched the rest of the palace interior. Where everything in the palace had a shine and splendor to it, these doors looked like they had been made a long time ago and were made of a dark wood that offset the metal framing.

Rika stopped in front of the doors, "Here we are. If you go through here you'll meet Naoko-chan."

Syaoran glanced from Rika to the doors not completely comprehending her words. He wasn't sure what was beyond the double doors, but with the neglect they showed he wasn't sure he wanted to see what it looked like inside. Before he could ask Rika any of the questions that swirled in the back of his mind, she walked off, leaving him alone in front of the towering wood doors.

With nothing left to do Syaoran grabbed the handle and walked into the room beyond. At first it took a while for his eyes to adjust. He had walked into what felt like a wall of light. There were windows as big as the doors he just walked through directly across from him and they were letting in the bright morning light. Thick dark curtains lined the edges of the windows, obviously drawn away to allow the gigantic space to be lit up.

"Ah. Hello! You must be Syaoran-san. I'm Naoko, the librarian." A voice from his right surprised Syaoran. In a jolt he looked over to find a small girl with short brown hair, and glasses smiling up at him.

"Hello. Librarian, you mean this is…?" Syaoran trailed off as he finally took in the rest of the room. He looked around to see that he was surrounded by walls of bookshelves, separated by the occasional window, and the book shelves stretched from the ground to the ceiling; which was three floors high. On the first floor there were all sorts of comfy looking chairs and cushions for people to leisurely read on. There were also plenty of desks and chairs for people like Sakura-hime that were keeping up with studies or doing research. As he followed the bookshelves up he realized the second and third floors to the library were a maze of bridges and staircases going in every direction.

Syaoran let out a low whistle at the sight. Naoko nodded approvingly, "Yes, we have the most expansive collection on all subjects within the realms and this place is often visited by knowledge seekers. Although lately, with all of the commotion surround the prince and princess's engagement not many have had time to stop by."

Clearly impressed Syaoran asked, "It really is something, but isn't it lonely being isolated here by yourself?"

Naoko seemed to ponder the question for a moment before responding, "Not at all! I love books, and there are enough here to keep me happy forever. Also, Sakura-hime often comes by to play." The smile on Naoko's face left no room for argument. Clearly the library was her pride and joy. "You know, Sakura-hime sent you here because she felt sorry for the both of us. She hasn't come by to visit either of us, and she knows you've been bored all alone in your room. It was her idea to make the library a hideaway for you to escape the chaos and loneliness outside those doors."

Syaoran didn't know what to say. Secretly he was pleased at the thought of Sakura-hime thinking so seriously about not only his well-being, but his entertainment. Smirking at the thought, he asked, "So, would it be okay if I helped myself to the stacks?"

Naoko smiled, "Go ahead. Most of these books are just itching to be read."

With the go ahead from Naoko, Syaoran made his way up a random flight of stairs to the second floor and gave a cursory glance to the titles of the books on the shelves. When he saw something that caught his interest he'd pick it out and sit on the floor to read with his back resting against the shelves.

After a significant amount of time had passed Syaoran stood up to stretch and began filing away the pile of books he'd collected at his feet when he caught a glint out of the corner of his eye. He turned around to look, but saw nothing. Thinking he imagine it he pushed the last book into its spot on the shelf when he saw the glint again, brighter and clearer this time.

Curious he glanced over the rails to see if Naoko was seeing the same thing, but when he looked down over the first floor there was no sign of the librarian. "Naoko-san?" he called, trying to see if her tiny frame had managed to hide amongst the stacks of books.

There was no reply. Syaoran looked towards the light again. It was coming from the third floor. Curiosity getting the better of him Syaoran climbed the stairs up to the third floor slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on the steady glow radiating from somewhere above him.

After arriving at the top of the stairs, the light had become strong enough to be seen clearly even in the well lit room. It seemed to be coming from a cluttered corner of the room where it looked like old volumes had been stacked and forgotten to collect cobwebs.

Almost in a daze Syaoran began shifting through the pile until he came across an old leather bound book with gold plating. Golden words shimmered across the cover in a wave of light, they read: Clowvian Blood Rites. It was a strange title, and Syaoran had a sudden desire to see what was inside the book. Turning it on its side he slowly pulled the cover away from the gold trimmed pages and saw a haze of golden lettering briefly before the shimmering light of the text increased in brightness and enveloped the library in a golden glow brighter than the sunlight streaming through the windows.

In an instant the light had died down and the letters on the first page of the book were in plain black text; For only the blood of Clow can inherit the power that controls the Earth itself. Just that single sentence was scrawled across the first page.

XXXXX

A/N: Huh, I wonder what will happen? Hello everyone! It's been a while. I finally got the inspiration and time to sit down and finish this chapter. I know my updates are few and far between, but I hope you continue to read and support Black Magic. I'm really excited about this story and I can't wait for it to unfold as I release more chapters. Please let me know what you think in a review. I love hearing from you all!

Ja ne!

-Akinaxx