Well, here I am with Chapter One.
For those of you that didn't read the note at the end of the prologue, that little thingy with the old woman had NOTHING to do with the story whatsoever! Don't complain about the last names, it's all perfectly explainable, and it will be explained later on.
Explanation of the prologue poem:
This poem is titled The Princess. I do not necessarily mean that in a monarchy way. I mean it as a girl who is an heir to a ruling position over a group of people.
The correct interpretation:
footsteps fall silent
upon deaf ears;
a blunt reminder
of memories
---------------
The girl who is the subject is the 'princess' of an organization that preserves the way things were before World War XIV (that's fourteen, for those of you who don't like roman numerals). This organization is run through a system similar to a monarchy. The eldest member of the founding family inherits the leadership. This girl was the heiress, but through one broken rule or another has been disowned. Basically, her footsteps are silent because she was raised to behave under strict tradition. The 'deaf ears' do not care that she follows tradition perfectly and would be their ideal ruler. They are no longer listening for the steps, for they no longer are waiting to reprimand her for a single sound. It is a reminder of fears she had as a child, when they threatened to do this if she didn't learn tradition. However, the memories are blurry, and even her childish imagination could not dream up how horrible it really was. So it is not a sharp reminder, but a blunt one. She is forced to acknowledge it, yet it doesn't quite qualify for deja vu.
---------------
a slow speech, without
a single word.
one final smile
with no meaning.
---------------
The 'speech' here, is her walk between the two rows of people in the organization. They all have their backs turned to her, and she cannot see any of their faces. The voice is the whisper-like rustle of fabric as she moves. Yet since nothing is actually spoken, not a single word is said. Her final smile is a smile that she makes before going through the door and out, alone, into the world she has never known. The smile has no meaning because she is so overwhelmed with so many emotions that her face is nothing more than a blank sheet of paper. Her eyes and smile do not convey any specific emotion, because there are too many.
---------------
Notes: Wow, I bet NONE of you saw it that way. Well anyway, I hope my explanation made sense to you.
_______________________________________________________________________
Learning to Speak Without Words
Chapter One: The Past
As I walked between the two rows of people, a thousand thoughts crossed my mind. I had known these people since the day I was born, and the younger ones I had known since their birth. I carried my sleeping baby in my arms. She had been born only a few weeks earlier. The Council had enough heart to at least keep me until we were strong enough to leave. Even though everyone was in the formal uniform, I knew who the last two people were. My father and mother, both with their backs turned to me like everyone else.
Holding the door open was the father of my nameless daughter. He was the only one to face me. His face was blank, just as mine was. He was the reason I was being forced to leave. I did not love him, but he loved me. When I told The Council of his actions, he replied that I had consented and that we were in love. I accused him of lying and of adultery, both of which I could not prove, and so they condemned me to the world outside our Federation. They kept me there until the baby was born, and some short weeks later they forced me to leave. He wanted to keep her, but I refused. The Council agreed that they would not have a bastard child without a mother as the heir to the leadership.
And so here we are. I have found a husband in this "world", and he is very kind. He loves my daughter and me. She doesn't know that he is not her real father. One day we will have to tell her and I know that it won't be easy. But I also know that the longer we wait, the harder it will be on her. She's only four right now. We have a few years before the time will come.
-A lost princess
* * * * * * *
*~ Twelve Years Later ~*
* * * * * * *
Sakura Amamoto bounded down the stairs of her four-story, broken down house as usual. But today, her footsteps were loud and the echoes were hollow. There was no one smiling in the kitchen to greet her this morning. She was early, which was unusual. In reality, she had never gone to sleep.
Her hair was long enough to reach her waist, but today it was secured in a tight bun. Instead of her normal clothes, she wore a black cotton dress. There were some holes that she had neatly sewn up. She still wore her black boots as usual. They were the only shoes she had. At the bottom of the stairs was a tall woman, Kaho Mizuki. She looked up at Sakura but did not try to smile or cheer her up.
"Good morning. Oh dear, we can't have you going out in that dress. And anyway, you'll probably never come back here. You need to bring your things. Don't worry, we have plenty of time. Your mother had a black dress she despised because of its color. Go put that on and pack up all her clothes and anything dear to you. I know for a fact that your clothes are all rags," Kaho said.
Sakura sighed and climbed back up the old staircase. All the steps squeaked. All the way at the top was the room she never went into. Her father had forbidden it. She opened the door and was in her parent's old room, from before her mother had died ten years ago. She went to the closet and for the first time saw all of the fine dresses her mother had owned but never worn. She found the black dress Mizuki-sama had talked about and put it on. It fit perfectly.
It was made of satin and fell down to her knees. There was a modest neckline and long sleeves. She found a suitcase in the bottom of the closet and packed all the other dresses away, as well as the other clothes of her mother's and all the jewelry. The suitcase seemed enchanted; it was small but never seemed to be full. She packed up everything in her mother's closet.
Sakura went down one floor to her father's room. She discovered a box in the closet that had 'To Sakura' written on it. She packed that up, as well as her father's valuables and photo albums. Still, the small case was not full. In her own room on the second floor, she packed up all her precious belongings and anything she thought she might need. She went back downstairs with a backpack and the single small bag. Kaho smiled when she saw her.
"Sakura, I see you found the magic bag. It's a good thing, you know. Without it, you'd need too many suitcases," she said.
"All right, Mizuki-sama. Let's go now."
Sakura, at Kaho's instruction, packed anything of meaning from the kitchen, dining room, and small living room. Now that anything from her house that she cared about was inside a suitcase she left for her father's funeral.
"Don't worry about the rest Sakura. You've actually received an extremely large inheritance from your mother's parents and I bought you a beautiful two-story cottage. The rest of your house will be moved today so all your things will be with you even those old clothes of yours. By the time I get you to your new home, it'll all be there. You have plenty of money left over to get a new start and a decent job. The house next to yours belongs to the Daidouji family. The daughter is your age; I think you'll like her."
"Didn't Mother's parents pass away when I was very small?" Sakura asked curiously.
"No. They didn't until you were about seven. The conditions were that you would receive the inheritance when your…father…passed on."
Sakura wondered why Mizuki-sama had said the word 'father' so reluctantly, but did not ask any more questions.
* * * * * * *
*~ Two Months Later~*
* * * * * * *
Sakura washed her breakfast dishes. It was lonely in her small house. Upstairs she had her bedroom, a guestroom, two bathrooms, and a room where she had placed all of her parents' belongings. The bed from the fourth floor of her old house was in that room. Her father's bed was now her own. Over the two short months since she'd moved here Sakura had sewn sheer pink curtains for her windows. The old house had been worthless, but the land it had been on had recently sold for a decent amount of money.
Sakura left her house and watered the large flower and vegetable garden in her front yard. The front yard was huge, starting at the street with a "forest" that covered about twenty yards from the street inwards. After that, there was a pretty little lake with koi and ducks and a nice wooden bridge going across it. This bridge was not part of the driveway. On the shore of the lake closest to the house there were wildflowers. Directly after that were the expansive gardens. And way back on the edge of the property, behind the house, there was the thing Sakura loved the most about the perfect house. Behind a wrought iron fence, you could barely see a glimmer of sun reflecting on metal, but if you knew where the gate was you could enter the hidden 'garden'. Sakura did just that.
She had not socialized much with the neighbors yet, being too busy getting accustomed to her new environment. Instead, she spent all her spare time on this masterpiece. Out of ground sprouted surreal trees and plants that seemed to be silver-plated. In reality, Sakura had discovered long ago a way to make metals into something that could bend in the wind and change. These plants were made of shiny, polished steel that looked like silver. In the air there were birds and insects made the same way. They were told to act as a real bird or insect would, and so they did. There were real flowers that stood out in an odd contrast to the fake ones. The leaves on the trees were also steel, but textured so as not to reflect the light. In the center of the large garden was a bench made entirely of real gold. This was something solid she had made; it was not like the steel plants and animals that she had instructed to behave the way they did. Sakura sat down on the bench to rest after all the watering. At least she had weeded the other gardens yesterday.
Suddenly, a black and white ball flew over the tall iron fence and landed in front of Sakura. She heard a voice on the other side of the gate, calling to her.
"Um, I'm really sorry! Can I please have my soccer ball back? I didn't mean to kick it into your yard," the voice said. Sakura went over to the gate and reluctantly opened it. She wasn't sure if she was ready to let someone else into her fantasy garden. The girl was obviously surprised to see her.
"Sorry, but were you expecting someone else?" she asked.
"My older brother told me that an old witch lived here. Who are you, then?" he said.
"Sakura Amamoto. I'm the only one that lives here. Come on, then. You want your soccer ball, don't you?" Sakura replied.
"Okay, nice to meet you. I'm Tomoyo Daidouli. My brother is Touya and my mother is Sonomi. My grandfather lives around here too somewhere. We live next door." (Yes, I made it Daidouli not Daidouji on purpose. It will be explained later.)
Sakura led the other girl into the sparkling garden. Tomoyo gasped in awe at the beautiful sight.
"How did this get here?" she asked. "It's amazing!"
"I made it," Sakura replied. Tomoyo stared at her.
"How?"
"It's a complicated process I discovered before I moved here. Perhaps I'll explain it all one day. It's difficult to put into words."
"Oh."
Sakura picked up the soccer ball and Tomoyo remembered why she had come here. She took the soccer ball from Sakura. "Thanks a lot, Sakura," she said with a smile. "Would you like to come and hang out at my house? We have our cousins over right now, like we do very often, and I'm sure they and my family would love to meet you."
"All right."
Tomoyo led Sakura out of the garden and over to her house. In the backyard were three other teenagers, two boys and a girl. There was a patio with a set of wicker furniture. A woman sat in one of the chairs.
"Everyone, this is Sakura Amamoto. She's the person who lives next door," Tomoyo said. The older of the two boys spoke up first.
"I'm Touya Daidouli, nice to meet you. He's Syaoran Daidouli, he doesn't talk much."
"And I'm his sister Meilin Daidouli," the girl added. "Nice to meet you, Amamoto-san."
"Hello there, I'm Sonomi Daidouli. I hope you like your new house over there. We're the only other house in the area."
Sakura smiled at them all. "Hello to all of you too. You can all call me Sakura."
"And you can call us by our first names as well," Sonomi replied.
"Not me," Syaoran retorted with a frown.
"Don't mind him, Sakura-san. He's just antisocial. You'll get used to it," Meilin said.
"Are we going to finish the soccer game or not?" Syaoran said crossly.
"Oh, I forgot!" Tomoyo said. "Sakura, you can be on the same team as me and Meilin, we're not as good as the boys."
"Well, I've never played before, but I'll try," Sakura said with a smile. The game started and Sonomi watched happily, although wondering why Sakura seemed vaguely familiar.
For those of you that didn't read the note at the end of the prologue, that little thingy with the old woman had NOTHING to do with the story whatsoever! Don't complain about the last names, it's all perfectly explainable, and it will be explained later on.
Explanation of the prologue poem:
This poem is titled The Princess. I do not necessarily mean that in a monarchy way. I mean it as a girl who is an heir to a ruling position over a group of people.
The correct interpretation:
footsteps fall silent
upon deaf ears;
a blunt reminder
of memories
---------------
The girl who is the subject is the 'princess' of an organization that preserves the way things were before World War XIV (that's fourteen, for those of you who don't like roman numerals). This organization is run through a system similar to a monarchy. The eldest member of the founding family inherits the leadership. This girl was the heiress, but through one broken rule or another has been disowned. Basically, her footsteps are silent because she was raised to behave under strict tradition. The 'deaf ears' do not care that she follows tradition perfectly and would be their ideal ruler. They are no longer listening for the steps, for they no longer are waiting to reprimand her for a single sound. It is a reminder of fears she had as a child, when they threatened to do this if she didn't learn tradition. However, the memories are blurry, and even her childish imagination could not dream up how horrible it really was. So it is not a sharp reminder, but a blunt one. She is forced to acknowledge it, yet it doesn't quite qualify for deja vu.
---------------
a slow speech, without
a single word.
one final smile
with no meaning.
---------------
The 'speech' here, is her walk between the two rows of people in the organization. They all have their backs turned to her, and she cannot see any of their faces. The voice is the whisper-like rustle of fabric as she moves. Yet since nothing is actually spoken, not a single word is said. Her final smile is a smile that she makes before going through the door and out, alone, into the world she has never known. The smile has no meaning because she is so overwhelmed with so many emotions that her face is nothing more than a blank sheet of paper. Her eyes and smile do not convey any specific emotion, because there are too many.
---------------
Notes: Wow, I bet NONE of you saw it that way. Well anyway, I hope my explanation made sense to you.
_______________________________________________________________________
Learning to Speak Without Words
Chapter One: The Past
As I walked between the two rows of people, a thousand thoughts crossed my mind. I had known these people since the day I was born, and the younger ones I had known since their birth. I carried my sleeping baby in my arms. She had been born only a few weeks earlier. The Council had enough heart to at least keep me until we were strong enough to leave. Even though everyone was in the formal uniform, I knew who the last two people were. My father and mother, both with their backs turned to me like everyone else.
Holding the door open was the father of my nameless daughter. He was the only one to face me. His face was blank, just as mine was. He was the reason I was being forced to leave. I did not love him, but he loved me. When I told The Council of his actions, he replied that I had consented and that we were in love. I accused him of lying and of adultery, both of which I could not prove, and so they condemned me to the world outside our Federation. They kept me there until the baby was born, and some short weeks later they forced me to leave. He wanted to keep her, but I refused. The Council agreed that they would not have a bastard child without a mother as the heir to the leadership.
And so here we are. I have found a husband in this "world", and he is very kind. He loves my daughter and me. She doesn't know that he is not her real father. One day we will have to tell her and I know that it won't be easy. But I also know that the longer we wait, the harder it will be on her. She's only four right now. We have a few years before the time will come.
-A lost princess
* * * * * * *
*~ Twelve Years Later ~*
* * * * * * *
Sakura Amamoto bounded down the stairs of her four-story, broken down house as usual. But today, her footsteps were loud and the echoes were hollow. There was no one smiling in the kitchen to greet her this morning. She was early, which was unusual. In reality, she had never gone to sleep.
Her hair was long enough to reach her waist, but today it was secured in a tight bun. Instead of her normal clothes, she wore a black cotton dress. There were some holes that she had neatly sewn up. She still wore her black boots as usual. They were the only shoes she had. At the bottom of the stairs was a tall woman, Kaho Mizuki. She looked up at Sakura but did not try to smile or cheer her up.
"Good morning. Oh dear, we can't have you going out in that dress. And anyway, you'll probably never come back here. You need to bring your things. Don't worry, we have plenty of time. Your mother had a black dress she despised because of its color. Go put that on and pack up all her clothes and anything dear to you. I know for a fact that your clothes are all rags," Kaho said.
Sakura sighed and climbed back up the old staircase. All the steps squeaked. All the way at the top was the room she never went into. Her father had forbidden it. She opened the door and was in her parent's old room, from before her mother had died ten years ago. She went to the closet and for the first time saw all of the fine dresses her mother had owned but never worn. She found the black dress Mizuki-sama had talked about and put it on. It fit perfectly.
It was made of satin and fell down to her knees. There was a modest neckline and long sleeves. She found a suitcase in the bottom of the closet and packed all the other dresses away, as well as the other clothes of her mother's and all the jewelry. The suitcase seemed enchanted; it was small but never seemed to be full. She packed up everything in her mother's closet.
Sakura went down one floor to her father's room. She discovered a box in the closet that had 'To Sakura' written on it. She packed that up, as well as her father's valuables and photo albums. Still, the small case was not full. In her own room on the second floor, she packed up all her precious belongings and anything she thought she might need. She went back downstairs with a backpack and the single small bag. Kaho smiled when she saw her.
"Sakura, I see you found the magic bag. It's a good thing, you know. Without it, you'd need too many suitcases," she said.
"All right, Mizuki-sama. Let's go now."
Sakura, at Kaho's instruction, packed anything of meaning from the kitchen, dining room, and small living room. Now that anything from her house that she cared about was inside a suitcase she left for her father's funeral.
"Don't worry about the rest Sakura. You've actually received an extremely large inheritance from your mother's parents and I bought you a beautiful two-story cottage. The rest of your house will be moved today so all your things will be with you even those old clothes of yours. By the time I get you to your new home, it'll all be there. You have plenty of money left over to get a new start and a decent job. The house next to yours belongs to the Daidouji family. The daughter is your age; I think you'll like her."
"Didn't Mother's parents pass away when I was very small?" Sakura asked curiously.
"No. They didn't until you were about seven. The conditions were that you would receive the inheritance when your…father…passed on."
Sakura wondered why Mizuki-sama had said the word 'father' so reluctantly, but did not ask any more questions.
* * * * * * *
*~ Two Months Later~*
* * * * * * *
Sakura washed her breakfast dishes. It was lonely in her small house. Upstairs she had her bedroom, a guestroom, two bathrooms, and a room where she had placed all of her parents' belongings. The bed from the fourth floor of her old house was in that room. Her father's bed was now her own. Over the two short months since she'd moved here Sakura had sewn sheer pink curtains for her windows. The old house had been worthless, but the land it had been on had recently sold for a decent amount of money.
Sakura left her house and watered the large flower and vegetable garden in her front yard. The front yard was huge, starting at the street with a "forest" that covered about twenty yards from the street inwards. After that, there was a pretty little lake with koi and ducks and a nice wooden bridge going across it. This bridge was not part of the driveway. On the shore of the lake closest to the house there were wildflowers. Directly after that were the expansive gardens. And way back on the edge of the property, behind the house, there was the thing Sakura loved the most about the perfect house. Behind a wrought iron fence, you could barely see a glimmer of sun reflecting on metal, but if you knew where the gate was you could enter the hidden 'garden'. Sakura did just that.
She had not socialized much with the neighbors yet, being too busy getting accustomed to her new environment. Instead, she spent all her spare time on this masterpiece. Out of ground sprouted surreal trees and plants that seemed to be silver-plated. In reality, Sakura had discovered long ago a way to make metals into something that could bend in the wind and change. These plants were made of shiny, polished steel that looked like silver. In the air there were birds and insects made the same way. They were told to act as a real bird or insect would, and so they did. There were real flowers that stood out in an odd contrast to the fake ones. The leaves on the trees were also steel, but textured so as not to reflect the light. In the center of the large garden was a bench made entirely of real gold. This was something solid she had made; it was not like the steel plants and animals that she had instructed to behave the way they did. Sakura sat down on the bench to rest after all the watering. At least she had weeded the other gardens yesterday.
Suddenly, a black and white ball flew over the tall iron fence and landed in front of Sakura. She heard a voice on the other side of the gate, calling to her.
"Um, I'm really sorry! Can I please have my soccer ball back? I didn't mean to kick it into your yard," the voice said. Sakura went over to the gate and reluctantly opened it. She wasn't sure if she was ready to let someone else into her fantasy garden. The girl was obviously surprised to see her.
"Sorry, but were you expecting someone else?" she asked.
"My older brother told me that an old witch lived here. Who are you, then?" he said.
"Sakura Amamoto. I'm the only one that lives here. Come on, then. You want your soccer ball, don't you?" Sakura replied.
"Okay, nice to meet you. I'm Tomoyo Daidouli. My brother is Touya and my mother is Sonomi. My grandfather lives around here too somewhere. We live next door." (Yes, I made it Daidouli not Daidouji on purpose. It will be explained later.)
Sakura led the other girl into the sparkling garden. Tomoyo gasped in awe at the beautiful sight.
"How did this get here?" she asked. "It's amazing!"
"I made it," Sakura replied. Tomoyo stared at her.
"How?"
"It's a complicated process I discovered before I moved here. Perhaps I'll explain it all one day. It's difficult to put into words."
"Oh."
Sakura picked up the soccer ball and Tomoyo remembered why she had come here. She took the soccer ball from Sakura. "Thanks a lot, Sakura," she said with a smile. "Would you like to come and hang out at my house? We have our cousins over right now, like we do very often, and I'm sure they and my family would love to meet you."
"All right."
Tomoyo led Sakura out of the garden and over to her house. In the backyard were three other teenagers, two boys and a girl. There was a patio with a set of wicker furniture. A woman sat in one of the chairs.
"Everyone, this is Sakura Amamoto. She's the person who lives next door," Tomoyo said. The older of the two boys spoke up first.
"I'm Touya Daidouli, nice to meet you. He's Syaoran Daidouli, he doesn't talk much."
"And I'm his sister Meilin Daidouli," the girl added. "Nice to meet you, Amamoto-san."
"Hello there, I'm Sonomi Daidouli. I hope you like your new house over there. We're the only other house in the area."
Sakura smiled at them all. "Hello to all of you too. You can all call me Sakura."
"And you can call us by our first names as well," Sonomi replied.
"Not me," Syaoran retorted with a frown.
"Don't mind him, Sakura-san. He's just antisocial. You'll get used to it," Meilin said.
"Are we going to finish the soccer game or not?" Syaoran said crossly.
"Oh, I forgot!" Tomoyo said. "Sakura, you can be on the same team as me and Meilin, we're not as good as the boys."
"Well, I've never played before, but I'll try," Sakura said with a smile. The game started and Sonomi watched happily, although wondering why Sakura seemed vaguely familiar.