Like Birds in the Wind

Chapter 2: The Violet Swan Queen

An Eriol/Tomoyo Alterfic

From almost before I could remember, I always had hated large public gatherings. Concerts, I did not mind that much because I didn't have to converse with others. But I made strict reservations about dinner parties and concert-receptions, which was what this was. But someone was going to be there. The knowledge of the presence of that someone was my motivation to coax a five thousand dollar dress out of my mother and keep jealous watch over my hair. Everything had to be perfect.

I had been in London for about two months now, made some close friends, and largely extended my circle of general friends with the help of one Eriol Hiiragizawa. Yes, he had continued to be in my life when I stayed in London, and unknowingly, he had made me fall even more in love with him. Although we were not the best of friends, Eriol was very friendly towards me, as though he would a little sister whom he tried to protect from all external threats. That was only when we were in the presence of each other, which was not often. But when we did see each other, he was friendly and affectionate and that made a horde of female friends come to me, all for the hope that Eriol might one day see them as a potential female companion.

For all of Eriol's popularity, it was the girls who truly worshipped him. Crowds of females, young and old, flocked to wherever he went, and the prince himself, a very handsome young man, had joked that he wanted only half of Eriol's female attention, then would he have fifty lifetimes' worth of wives. Perhaps the prince had that much.

Maria strode into my boudoir regally, resplendent in her brilliant turquoise silk taffeta gown that had been made by London's foremost designer, a man whose name I cannot remember. She anxiously watched her hair in the large mirror, as if afraid that it might fall to pieces if she did not constantly keep vigil over it, and preened uselessly. She was another one of Eriol's admirers.

/I am so glad that you are my friend, Annie./  She said.

/Are you?/ I had replied.

/Or is it just because I am friends with Eriol?/ I asked with a sly smile. She looked indignant for a moment, but then her demeanor softened. There was a fond smile on her face.

/Annie, you are a darling, but you do know me too well./ She admitted in her elegant Spanish accent.

/You don't mind, do you?/ Maria watched me anxiously for a moment.

/I couldn't bear it if you did. Please tell me that you don't mind that I am completely in love with Eriol./ Of course like the dutiful best friend I was, I lied and said that I didn't mind at all. I threw in my own fond smile.

/I do know you very well, Marrie. We have known each other since we were children, and I am happy for you that you have found him./

 For a moment, Maria did not look like the queenly young woman she so often looked, only an insecure girl with a quavering smile. I embraced her. Oh, I was so fond of her that I could not bring myself to let her know of the truth, that I too, like she, was in love with Eriol. We walked out of my room with arms linked, chatting and giggling like young girls.

I was so nervous to see him again after two weeks, that my heart was pounding and I could hardly breathe. He really did have that affect on women, with his charming smile and penetrating gaze. Eriol was by no means effeminate; he was one of the most popular people among the males, too. Even the elderly gentlemen liked him. I smiled at Maria encouragingly, and patted her hand. She looked as nervous as I felt.

When we had entered, the beginning reception that would then become a dinner party, then a concert, had just begun. Maria asked me to look for Eriol, and I gladly agreed. It was not hard to locate him, being in the crowd of females, and many males, too. Just then, one of my friends, Katrina Zolovsky of the Ukraine, came to me hurriedly.

/Annie, she had said, Eriol brought some of his friends to this reception. You must go and see it with me! /So Katrina, Maria, and I hurried to the large crowd, of which only some half dozen or less individuals stood. Eriol had been talking with a tall young man with hazel hair, and smiled when he saw me.

/Anna, you are looking very pretty tonight. I have not seen you since the dinner party at Lord Rochester's, is it? Come, you must meet with some of my friends./ Oh, I was melting, but I tried my best to conceal it. Eriol led me to the young man with hazel hair and captivating dark eyes. The young man was breathtakingly handsome.

/This is a close friend of mine, Syaoran Li. He has just arrived from Hong Kong. He is the Li Clan Leader./ Eriol put a look of mock-awe on his face at Syaoran's title. Syaoran threw him a dirty look, and nodded his head at me genteelly.

/And this is his wife, the beautiful Sakura Kinomoto./ Sakura smiled warmly at me, and murmured something about my dress. Her hair was auburn, shimmering almost as much as large emerald eyes that seemed to drown you momentarily in their depths. She was beautiful, the sort of timeless beauty that you saw so rarely these days. There was a radiance to her like the sun, so bright and gorgeous, except it was gentle. She moved with an exuberance that made you feel awed at her, and you could somehow tell that everything she said was sincere, was genuine. She was like a goddess, almost. Then Eriol's eyes softened, and he held out a hand to a woman, who put her delicately sculpted hand in his.

/And this,/ Eriol murmured, /is Tomoyo Daidouji./ I somehow tore my eyes away from him to see whom it was who commanded his attention so loyally. When I saw her, that moment I would never forget. I saw a woman who was so beautiful that I could do nothing but stare. I had never before seen anyone so beautiful. She had the most enigmatic, elusive eyes of a brilliant violet with a tint of grey. They were surrounded by long, thick black lashes that were as dark as her wavy hair, full and long. It was up at the moment, in a silver tiara of very fine wire that made the coiffure so artful it seemed random. The tiara was barely visible unless you were close to her, but then the workmanship was breathtaking. She was not very tall, but sufficiently so, with a willow slender-frame and graceful movements. Her dress was a brilliant amethyst, and was so beautiful that I could not even be envious.

This Tomoyo took my hand and smiled at me, a mysterious and gorgeous smile that was like magic, that cast the onlookers into a spell, both male and female. If Sakura was almost like a goddess, then Tomoyo certainly was the queen of goddesses. There was something in her so removed from mundane women that none could resist the urge to stare. Her very grace and queenly movements made me feel so very ordinary, it made me momentarily forget everything except how inferior that I was to her.

After I had broken from the spell cast by Tomoyo, I had the sudden awful realization that this was the black-haired beauty that the young men had been raving about, that all the girls had been gossiping about. It my trance that I had whenever I was about to see Eriol, I had not paid attention to the gossip that had run wild. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I started to remember what the girls had all been saying.

Tomoyo apparently was the daughter of a very rich businesswoman in Japan, making her one of the richest women on the planet, and had everything that she had ever wanted. Tomoyo, along with Syaoran and Sakura, were Eriol's childhood friends from when he had lived in Japan. She had the most beautiful voice. Tomoyo sang Italian arias and operas, and it was said that Eriol would only play the piano for her, and no one else. She had a brilliant mind, and spoke perfect English along with Japanese, Chinese, and Italian. Tomoyo was quite good at French, too. Because she was so good at Italian, it was rumored that Eriol called her carissima, Italian for darling. It was said that Eriol intended to marry her.

At these memories, I felt more and more inferior, until it seemed that I was merely a little child with a runny nose and scraped knee, along with a torn and muddy dress. I felt awful. How was I to compete with a talented, beautiful daughter of one of the richest women in the world, who was perfect in every way, as perfect as Eriol was? How was I to compete with someone so beautiful that it made even the most jealous of rivals forget themselves and stare, fascinated, like everyone else?

Tomoyo was like a swan. She was graceful and beautiful and timeless, as a swan is. Her neck was even allusory to a swan's neck, reminding me of a story that I had read once, of the King Harold who lost at the Battle of Hastings. He had a beautiful wife, Ealdgyth, whom was called the Lady Swan Neck. Tomoyo fit that perfectly.

Apparently, I was not the only one thinking these thoughts. Katrina looked crestfallen, and Maria was having great difficulty containing her tears. I hastily excused myself and helped Maria to the bathroom.

Maria was sobbing by the time we reached the ladies' room.

/Oh Annie./ She had said despairingly. /How can I ever get him to even notice me? I am certainly not like you. You were bold enough to talk to him on that train, and now you are good friends with him./ I thought that my face was anguished, too. Tomoyo was a huge blow to me.

/I don't know./ I said slowly. /Perhaps if you just spoke with him casually?/

Even bawling loudly, Maria managed to throw me a disdainful look.

/But Annie, didn't you notice the way that he looked at that Tomoyo? He is desperately in love with her. How is any woman to compete with someone who looks like Tomoyo, not to mention her talent and her brilliant mind and her wealth and her—/ I cut Maria off. I couldn't stand this.

/There is always a way, Marrie. There is!/ My inspirational talk had not done much apparently; Maria burst out into fresh tears.

It was just then when someone wearing a gorgeous lace-and taffeta confection of amethyst silk walked into the ladies' room. It was Tomoyo.

/Eriol is very worried about you, Miss Windsor. And you, Miss Sandomere. He told me to see how you are doing./ For a moment, I could not even process what she had said because I had been savoring the most beautiful voice in the world. After she had stopped speaking, I was desperate to hear more. But I forced myself to speak.

/Maria and I are alright, Miss Daidouji. You mustn't worry about us. And tell Eriol that we are all right. Thank you, Miss Daidouji./  Tomoyo smiled again kindly, and told us.

/Please wait here for a moment. I will be back very quickly./ And then she left in a flurry of violet taffeta and heavenly scented perfume. Maria and I exchanged looks. Tomoyo had apparently shocked Maria into stopping her infernal bawling.

When Tomoyo returned, she was carrying a glass of ice water and a silver spoon resting in it. She smiled in a motherly way towards Maria.

/A cold spoon pressed to the eyes will reduce swelling, and I have something for the redness./ She said simply. She then concentrated on pressing the ice-cold spoon to Maria's eyes, and gradually their swelling went away. After that, Tomoyo gently instructed Maria to put in eye drops which made quick work of the redness, and expertly applied concealer to her face. Maria looked as if she hadn't been crying at all. Tomoyo smiled.

/There. I think you are all right to go out now. Do you need anything else, Miss Sandomere?/ Maria shook her head stiffly. Tomoyo gave a last smile and a comforting pat on the shoulder, and exited the room with the grace of a swan.

I profoundly was shocked at the scene that I had just witnessed. Everyone could tell point-blank that Maria was in love with Eriol, but for someone who almost owned Eriol for herself, Tomoyo had been as kind as a mother. Or a best friend. At that moment, I surrendered myself to the inevitable truth. It was Tomoyo who deserved Eriol, through her kindness and her saintliness and her beauty, as well as the thousand other good things about her. And Eriol loved her as the night loved the stars, the very moon herself. If Tomoyo had been callous or rude or vindictive, I could still find it in myself to hate her; she was an angel and there was nothing more to be said about it.

I dragged Maria out of the room before she could start to cry again.

All through the elegant dinner of nine courses, appetizers, soup, a fish entrée, a meat entrée, a fowl entrée, garden salad, a cheese course, hot beverages, and dessert, I could eat little of anything except for my favorite dessert, white chocolate and rasberry cheesecake. I only sat there, in a silent, morose study of Eriol and Tomoyo, who sat near us. I could tell that every male within eyesight of Tomoyo was staring at her, or at least stealing long glances when their female companions were not looking. As a matter of fact, many of the women in the large banquet hall would sometimes just look at her for a moment. That was how very intoxicating she was, how very addictive. I wondered how Eriol felt.

I looked to Eriol, and the proof of his love for her was reaffirmed once again, reaffirmed a thousand times every time he looked at her, every time he touched her. It was not especially noticeable, but sometimes it was there, in the way that he looked at her, or the way that he treated her. Like a princess. She was a princess in her own right, without need to have been born to it. Her radiance would have dimmed any other princess or queen anyway. Eriol looked so happy, even when he wasn't smiling. Though my heart was breaking and I was falling and falling into despair, there was something so breathtaking in their mutual love that I could not help but look on wistfully and wish for a love half as intense. Even then, I did not know that I might yet never receive that love, even if I loved that person with all my heart and soul.

I think this plot is really nice. Thought out, for once. Yay! Of course, I do have many more parts to go. I bet you're wondering why Anna said that Eriol was her husband if she knows that he was so in love with Tomoyo, aren't you? Well its not like I'm going to say anything. I'll just let you ferment slowly for however long it takes for me to finish the story. Very slowly. I have been called evil many, many times, you know. Don't worry that I'm lacking. But thanks for your concern.