Chapter 2 - Life Without You

Syaoran had to go back to what seemed hell to him at the beginning. The view of the huge black castle was visible to him, and soon they would be inside. The chariot started to slow down and the huge iron gates opened, mostly all was black. There were only a few colors that could be seen inside like blue and green as well as gold and silver, and even a deep dark red color. He got off the chariot and left before anyone noticed him. He started thinking about his mother and about that girl he saw, he couldn't keep his mind away from her for some reason. He was in his garden, the garden he had made for his mother, it had many different types of flowers and even trees. He sat below a cherry tree, and looked up at the pink flowers that had started to fall already. "Hey, there you are" came a voice from the door of the garden, it belonged to a girl, Meirin, his cousin. She had a black short skirt, and red and black shirt. She had her own sword on her back and she brushed her black hair back, her red eyes fixed on him. But no matter what she said or how she dressed he never paid attention to her, not even a slight glimpse to how pretty she was.

She walked to him slowly, letting the wind hit her face gently, moving her skirt around, there was one thing she always wanted and that was to marry Syaoran. She wasn't just the prettiest girl in the castle, she was also the smartest, and the most talented. She had everyone's attention but Syaoran's, which she was determined to get. She got in front of him and kneeled next at his side, he was looking down, thinking. She lifted his face and tried to kiss him in the lips, but he stopped her and slowly just walked away. She got very mad but didn't follow him, she knew he hated that and that wouldn't help her getting what she wanted. She grunted silently, no one would have even noticed, she sat down on the ground thinking of what to do next to get him.

Syaoran walked to his room slowly, not paying attention to anything around him. He wanted to know why they had left but he knew better than to ask his father. He got to his room and opened the wooden black door. He saw everything like he had left it, his bed, the desk, his swords and other weapons. And after closing and locking the door, he walked to his desk and saw a piece of special parchment. He took his color inks out and started to draw, he didn't know what he was doing until he finished. When he saw what he had created, even he was amazed, he had drawn the girl just like he had seen her in his way to the castle, every detail that he had seen. He wondered what was happening to him, why did that girl haunt him like this and why couldn't he feel his mother's aura.

At the woman's house in the forest, she woke up all alone, new bed sheets covered her bed, the stained ones had been taken away, while she slept. Her baby was next to her, the baby surrounded with white puffy pillows. The baby's smile was gentle, she tried to put the baby in her arms but she was too weak, so she just moved closer to her baby and caressed the chestnut hair of the baby, the eyes where just like her's and Syaoran's, that deep red-brownish color. She noticed the baby was also weak, and could barely make a smile for mom.

An old man came into the room to see his daughter and her child. "Hello, sweetheart" he said, and the woman, tilted her head a little to see his face. "Hello dad" she said softly, now touching the baby's little fingers. "Your baby was born weak but strong enough to survive" he said gently to her, "so small" she said talking to herself, "Yes, also born very small" he said and smiled when the baby saw him, and gave a smile for grandpa. "Such wonderful miracle" he said and left them alone again.

The door bell rang in the house, with a musical sound that was almost enchanting. A butler opened the door, a girl in a pink dress stood there smiling, her eyes glittering. "Hi" she said cheerfully, "Hello Ms. Kinomoto" the butler said warmly, "Can I see Ms. Li??, was her baby born already???" she asked excitedly. "Yes, you can see her Sakura" the old man said, "Thank you" she said and hurried upstairs to Ms. Li's room. Her pink dress floating back as she ran cheerfully, she got in front of her door and opened it slowly after knocking softly. Then she peaked her head inside, "hello Sakura, come in" the lady said. "Ms. Li, is the baby born??" Sakura asked as she was closing the door, "yes" she said and Sakura walked closer to see the cute little baby, wrapped in white sheets. The baby was still awake, and smiling to anyone that entered the room. "How cute!!" Sakura said, and touched the baby's left hand. "Can I lift him up??, can I?? Please" Sakura begged and made a puppy face, her green eyes looking at Ms. Li directly in the eyes. "All right Sakura, just be very careful with HER" Ms. Li said slowly and then stopped before saying 'her'. "I will, don't worry" Sakura said and carefully lifted the little baby girl. The little girl was even small in 12 year old Sakura's arms. Sakura took the baby carefully with her and made a little dance while Ms. Li watched in delight. "Ms. Li, are you Ok??, you look very pale" Sakura said worried, "I'm fine Sakura, can you do me a favor and but my little girl in my lap, I'm too weak to lift her up on my own" she told Sakura. "Ok" Sakura said and slowly walked to Ms. Li's left side, like before, and carefully placed the small baby in her lap. Ms. Li was very happy, she hugged her baby gently, the baby tried to hug her mom as well with her little arms.

It was a while before Sakura had to go, she spent a lot of time talking to Ms. Li, like always ever since her husband and 2 son's had left for their training. Sakura lived in another village at the other side of Ms. Li's village and castle. Sakura often came, because she loved nature and Ms. Li and her father taught her magic, the same was for her best friend Tomoyo. Both of those girl were very nice and lived in the same village, Ms. Li wasn't sure where. Sakura had to go now because it was getting late, and her parents would get worried, as well as Tomoyo and all her friends back home. She said good-bye to everyone and left calmly and cheerful just like she came.

About a year had passed, Ms. Li had no word of her husband or her sons, she was in the back yard with her precious daughter Ai. The day was calm, and the clouds announced the beginning of winter and the soon birthday of Ai. Snow was barely forming in the clouds, Sakura and Tomoyo were playing with Ai. Ai had grown stronger each day, since a week after she was born. Tomoyo was putting a little puffy red dress to Ai, which looked absolutely adorable in Ai. Sakura played with Ai's straight chestnut hair, putting it the same way Ms. Li wore it. It was strange but Ms. Li was worried, she couldn't feel her families auras, not even Sakura's, Tomoyo's or Ai's who were so close to her.

Ai then walked to her mom, and danced a little before falling to the ground still looking adorable. She made a little smile and took her mom's hand to lift herself up, and brushed any dirt that she got on her back. Ai even being so young, she was still very smart, a gifted child and she knew how to read emotions very good almost as good as Tomoyo. "Mommy?" she said, "yes dear??" Ms. Li asks, "why you sad?" she asked, "I just have a bad feeling that's all" she explained, "Ok, mommy" Ai said, then climbed the little bench her mom was sitting in and kissed her in the cheek. Ai then got down slowly, very careful not to fall and ran to Sakura to play again.

Syaoran in the other hand wasn't playing at all, he was with his brother in a sword fight. Zhao, his brother, brushed his black hair back before attacking again, Syaoran had become better than him at almost everything except in sword fight, and still Zhao was their father's favorite. Meirin had also learned all that they had learned, and even at the age of 13 she looked even more beautiful than before, she started to develop her feminine body to a higher degree, even Mr. Li got her attention, but still Syaoran didn't. She watched carefully as the two fought, she had on her short red and beige fighting dress, with short shorts on the bottom. After the fight was over Meiring would get her sword fighting class with Zhao like usual. The fight finally finished with Zhao as the winner as usual, he smiled and laughed a bit, and looked at Syaoran in the floor, mad as hell, Syaoran was bleeding from his right arm, but he didn't seem to notice or even care. Syaoran than took his sword at his left, with his left hand and stood up with no help from anyone and left slowly without saying a word. Meiring tried to talk to him, but he just left then she approached Zhao to get her class.

Syaoran went to his room and treated his wound slowly and gently like his mother taught him. Then he walked to his desk and did some magic trick and a door opened inside the closet which was next to the desk. He walked in and the secret door closed behind him, he walked up the stairs into a secret and unknown room about two floors above his room. He always went there to think or to just get away for a while. He opened the door, and light shined on his face, he looked around to see if everything was in place, it was, just like he had left it last time. He sat in a chair looking at the painting of his mother, one that he made before his real training started, it showed his mother smiling, her queen looking face always made him feel better. Next to that painting was another one, this one smaller it showed the girl he had seen and hunted his dreams at the beginning. But today he had a strange feeling of evil, something would happen but he wasn't sure what, he just knew it was going to be bad.

Mr. Li was concentrating in his black room all locked up, no light at all entered the room. Than red and blue light appeared in front of him, but he still had his eyes closed, than white and green light mixed with the other two colors as he chanted something softly. He was concentrating on the energy from one person, ever since he had left the house of his wife, he wasn't able to feel her presence or aura at all, all he could feel was this energy that came from that house. The energy was getting stronger and stronger with each passing day, evil swept over his mind, he felt hatred for who ever this person was, and he wanted that energy gone forever. He concentrated harder until the light filled the whole room, the light too bright to actually see anything. His power was felt all over the kingdom to whoever had any magical powers. No matter how much he concentrated he was never able to see the person who the energy belonged to, but it did feel so familiar to him. He stopped chanting and the lights disappeared in that instant, darkness covered the room once again.

Back with Ms. Li, they were all having fun, Ms. Li kept thinking of his son's and why did her husband leave without saying anything, without letting her see her boys. And she kept having bad premonitions which she wrote in a diary book after each one. She walked over to her daughter and grabbed her hand gently, also telling the 2 girls to get inside before it rains, not snows, the clouds were dark. They were all walking towards the house when suddenly two man appeared behind them and called them. They all stopped at that moment, and fear swept over all of them except Ai. In less than a minute, there where many more men, they had surrounded them. A man laughed and got near them, "Hello, me lady" he said and bowed, "It took us a long time to find this place, but we finally made it" he continued talking cynically, "and we want it" he finished saying looking at Ai who was still calm.

All of the men had started to get near and wearing weapons on their hands ready to strike. Some of the men had walked inside, Sakura and Tomoyo were behind Ms. Li as well as Ai still holding her hand. "Take what you want, but leave the children alone" Ms. Li said courageously, "O we'll take what we want, and we also want them, starting with the cute auburn hair girl" he said, and Sakura took a step back. "Leave them alone or..", "Or what??, your gonna kill me??" he said and laughed sinisterly. Ms. Li took a step in front and let go of Ai's hand, "Mommy??" Ai asked worried, "It's ok darling, mommy will be fine" she told her and allowed Tomoyo to grab her. Two of the men, went next to the leader the man who was speaking, to cover him, Ms. Li, started chanting something in a whisper. Three of the man tried to grab Sakura and Tomoyo from the back without Ms. Li noticing. Sakura kicked one of the man in the leg below the knee and he got furiously angry and tried hitting her in the face. Tomoyo also tried to defend herself and Ai fell to the floor. Ms. Li noticed what was happening and finished her chant, then an immense amount of light appeared and made those men without shades to fall to the ground screaming that they were blind before falling unconscious.

Ms. Li then almost fell to the floor if it hadn't been for Sakura who held her from the back. When the light disappeared, there where only about 4 men still conscious. That included the leader who when the light disappeared completely was holding Ai with one arm, two of the other man were trying to hold Tomoyo in place. "Ai, Tomoyo" Ms. Li and Sakura screamed in unison, then the leader took out a dagger with his right hand from the side of his pants and pointed it to Ai's heart, Ai felt suffocating from the pressure he was putting on her stomach and was trying hard to get loose. "Don't move" he ordered all of them, that had included Ai who didn't obey. "No" Ms. Li screamed, and held out her left hand to him before lowering it down again. "Leave my daughter alone" she pleaded to the man, she started to cry, Sakura and Tomoyo were scared and frozen in place. Then there was a ball of fire that hit the man from the back and he fell hard on the floor trying to put out the fire. The other two men who had been awake where unconscious by then as well as bleeding. Tomoyo freed herself and ran to get Ai who had also fallen with the man. In a matter of seconds the other two men fell to the ground whining and falling unconscious. Tomoyo took Ai, but the man grabbed her leg and she fell with Ai on top of her. He took out the dagger and almost sliced Tomoyo if Touya hadn't been there to prevent it.

The storm had already started and was pouring hard, Ai was crying frightened and the thunder just made things worst. Touya was fighting with the man who was a little bit taller than him. The man's cape had fallen to reveal, the disfigured face of once a blond man with dark blue almost black eyes. Touya tried his best to fight him but he was much stronger and the man managed to cut him in the right side of his chest "Toya!" Sakura screamed worried, Youya fell to the wet ground after getting a few steps back next to Ai and Tomoyo. The man was so mad that he jumped to aim on Ai, Ai stood there frozen with terror, but Ms. Li intercepted him by launching herself to him. The man hit the tree and a 'crack' was heard as both fell at the same time. Ai then crawled trough the wed muddy grass to her mother, who was looking up, blood coming from her mouth. "Mommy" Ai said worried and crying, the tears mixed with the hard rain that fell on Ms. Li's face. Ai then looked at her mother's waist and found the dagger all the way in, blood coming out of it. Ai felt her mother's aura and power disappearing, "Mommy, don't leave I love you very, very much" she said crying and pressing her head against her mothers crest. "I..lo-love you too" she said before closing her eyes and with a smile she left this world. "No, mommy no" Ai kept crying and saw her grandpa coming to grab her, he lifted her up and hugged her tightly, letting her cry as the rain fell on them.

Syaoran had a sad feeling and started to cry for no reason at all, or at least that's what he thought. And crying he fell asleep, while his mother died, to a better place, a place called heaven. Ai couldn't take so much pain after a minute or two she fainted. Yukito who had arrived late, came to help, he took Ms. Li inside the house outside of the rain. Yukito and other servants helped in getting all the men tied up and locked in a dungeon under the house, at the end there were 26 people including the leader. Sakura and Tomoyo started to cry but still managed to help Toya with his wound. The old man, Ai's grandfather was sad and even cried a little, he held his grand-daughter in his arms, holding her tightly. That night everyone suffered Ms. Li's death, her body was cold and pale, her white dress stained with blood and mud and was wet like everyone else. The loss of one person affected all of them, even Touya who didn't know her very well like his sister Sakura.. But Ai was the one that suffered the most, she wasn't even a year old yet and her mother had died, and her father and brothers had abandoned her, the only family she had left was her grandfather.

To Be Continued...

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