Caught in a curse
Chapter 3
Author : butterfly-grey
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I don't know when I will be writing the next chapter, I'll
be somewhere else for about a week where computers don't exist. But I
will try, no promises though. Please review, keeps those stories coming
faster.
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He had found her.
In a small village called Mulberry. He
rubbed his chin, why would she choose to live in such a secluded
village so much away from civilization. Perhaps she had something to hide.
Still, he was not interested in that, more precisely he was interested in
seeing her again.
He urged his horse towards the village. He pulled the reins
and his horse came to a halt immediately. Nightshadow was trained
by him, and he made sure that Nightshadow complied to his orders
perfectly. Disobedience was something he would not tolerate.
"Good day, madam. Do you know where a Miss Ying Fa stays?" he
asked one of the ladies passing by.
The women clearly in her 40's smiled engagingly at him. He was handsome and few
men such as him would appear at Mulberry. "Right at the end of the road. Do you mind if I ask why you seek her, sir?"
she asked.
"Thank you and yes I do mind," he answered her shortly and urged his horse in a gallop.
He slowed Nightshadow into a trotting pace and caught sight of Ying Fa. She was filthy, as if
she had been rolling in the mud of her garden. In her hand was a shovel and she was digging up some soil.
So absorbed in her work that she had not notice a rider at her front gate. His horse neighed and she looked up
with surprise in her eyes.
"Yes?" she asked.
"I wondered why you left so abruptly at the night of the
wedding?"
A gasp escaped her lips at the sound of his voice. Her
green eyes widened into orbs as she recalled that voice. The voice
belonged to the black masked man with gold-amber eyes. How on Earth
had he found her?
"What do you want, Master Li?" she asked him without a
trace of friendliness.
"You, of course," he answered straight away.
She gave him a puzzled look, "But why?"
He smiled suddenly at her features. This all seem so
familiar. "Because I want to see you again, would you invite me in?"
he said.
"I'm sorry but my home isn't fit to entertain an important
man such as yourself," she told him sincerely. She wanted him to
leave her alone.
He came down from his horse in one swift motion. "Very well
then. I'll come again tomorrow to try to change your mind."
Sakura was shocked by his words. The man was simply impossible,
she thought she had indirectly told him that she did not wish to see him. But her heart
seemed to beat faster when he said he would return tomorrow. She still hadn't said anything,
merely stared at him in a confused manner.
True to his words, Xiao Lang returned again the next day and continued to do so
for the next few days that she refused to let him in. Curious villagers were beginning to gather
around her house, wondering about the handsome young heir of the Li Clan that came to visit Sakura
everyday but never go in.
Finally, she catapulted and decided to let him in. She was
frustrated with the crowd gathering outside her house and teasing her
about the young man who came everyday.
He had given her a truimphant smile when she asked him to
come in. Xiao Lang still couldn't explain why he felt as if he knew
her. The reason he came back everyday was just to see her.
"I haven't much to serve you, Master Li. Would you like
some tea?" she inquired politely.
"It's Xiao Lang, Ying Fa. Yes, I'd like some tea," he
said in return.
She nodded and bustled around her in her small
kitchen. He watched her petite figure moving gracefully as she put
the kettle on to boil and remove a porcelein tea set from the
cupboard. Her back was turn to him and she stared at something outside
of the kitchen window. Xiao Lang knew that she didn't want to face him.
Truth was he too was feeling uncomfortable with all this, he had never
court a women, not that he needed to. Court? Was he courting her?
"Have a sit, will you?" he told her.
Sakura could feel his intense amber eyes boring into her
back. She bit her lip, she was afraid. How could one man wreck havoc
over her feelings so easily, being so near him made her want to run
into his arms and stay there forever. This was getting absurd, she
thought angrily and put her hand on the kettle's handle to remove it
from the stove.
"Ahh..ouch!" she screamed painfully. Sakura no baka, she
thought to herself. She shook her hand, waving it in the air to try
to disperse the pain.
Suddenly, Xiao Lang's hand shot out and grabbed hers. He
dragged her to the basin of water and pushed her hand into it. The
touch of his hand inflamed her, hotter than the handle of the kettle.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him staring at their adjoined
hands. She saw him concentrating hard and the basin started to glow
green, the forest type of green.
A warm feeling touched her fingers first then her hand,
then the pain was no more. She stared at him in wonder. And
he smiled.
"Magic," she whispered.
"Are you in any more pain?" he asked her.
She nodded, "Your hand is squeezing mine very painfully,"
she said truthfully.
He gave a shout of laughter loosened his hold but not quite
letting her go.
"So familiar, yet again," he said quietly. Their eyes met
and they held each others gaze.
"Hai," she mumbled to herself. In the back of her mind, she
had one of her flashes again. The pictures spin in circles but one
stood out prominently and it was of a boy, a smaller more innocent
Xiao Lang who was holding her hand as he did now. Then the darkness
took her.
* * *
"Has anyone seen Xiao Lang?" Ye Lan asked. She walked into
the private family hall where first members of the Li's and the elders
were only allowed.
Eriol was on the chair with Tomoyo on his lap. They had
been talking quietly, in between kisses. Her eldest grandnephew, Yi
Long was on the floor playing with a wooden boat. His mother, Lin was
dozing off quietly beside him. At the sound of Ye Lan's voice however
she had woken up.
"Xiao Lang? Now that you've mention it, Aunt Ye Lan, I
don't recall seeing him anywhere. These few days, he's been riding off
with Night Shadow," Eriol said after thinking for a while.
Ye lan's eyes narrowed, "Riding off, you say. Where did he go?"
"Have you noticed little brother's disposition recently? He
was actually being nice, I mean not exactly but he didn't snap or glare
a servant to death recently," Lin said suddenly. A hint of
mischievousness in her voice.
"What are you trying to imply, daughter?"
"Well, if you ask me only someone of the opposite sex could
make a person change don't you think?" she said slyly. Her eyes
twinkling.
Tomoyo's violet eyes widened as it struck her, "He met
someone. A girl," she said happily.
Ye Lan frowned, the wrinkles in her face standing out. "Do
you know who it is?"
Lin shrugged, "Could be anyone, maybe someone he met during
the wedding dinner."
Ye Lan walked out the way she came in without any more
words. She needed to find out who the girl was. Her youngest and only
son was her pride and she had already hand picked some ladies from
distinguished families for him, all whom were eager to consort with the
next leader of the Li Clan. However, if this girl can make him the
happiest man she would consent for she had not forgotten how cold and
distant Xiao Lang had become ever since she ordered the killing of that
cursed girl's 12 years ago.
* * *
Xiao Lang did not leave Ying Fa's house until night had
descended. Ying Fa had fainted in his arms and she slept through the
evening. And he waited for her to awake. Usually, watching a female
sleep was not his cup of tea but Ying Fa was different. His first
impression when she fainted was a ploy as other women had done so
before. But his own heart told him otherwise an he believed it.
Angels exists in this world, he thought, and in the form of
Ying Fa. In her sleep, her face was wiped off of any other emotions
except for peace. Like an innocent child she was.
"I see you've awaken finally, princess," he said to her in
a gentle voice.
Sakura shifted her head slowly and saw that Xiao Lang had
not left yet. She found that she was in her bed and night had already
fallen. What had happened, her thoughts were all distorted.
"You fainted and I thought of reviving you with a kiss like
in fairy tales," he said to her teasingly.
Her face became flushed, "I wouldn't have wake up, you're
not my prince charming."
He nodded, something dark in his eyes, "That's why I waited
until now-"
His head swooped down to take possession of her lips. His
lips were hard and cruel against her soft ones and she struggled to get
free but his arms were like steel manacles. He was punishing her, he
knew, for saying that he wasn't her prince charming. He wanted her bad.
Then reality gripped him and he pushed her away. Their
breathing was labored and she was staring at him with hurt eyes. He
reached for her but she scuttled into the back corner of the bed.
With a thunderous look on his face, he stalked out of the
house. He leaped onto Nightshadow and galloped off in the infernal
darkness. Anger and hatred for what he had done. All he wanted to say
now was that he was sorry.
Sakura lied in her bed, awake throught the night. Her
fingers brushed her lips and a shiver went through her. What had she
said to make him kiss her like that?
She sighed. She was positive now that she knew him from her
younger years and they had been friends. Thinking of him, gave her a
warm feeling down in her stomach. She needed him, unlike anything she
had ever felt before.
One evening, Sakura wandered into the forest and came upon
a small river. The setting sun turn the water a bronze-orange liquid.
She sat on a patch of grass, tugging the short tuffs playfully. Up on
the big oak tree, the birds twittered and chirped a sharp sweet melody.
Then there was the swishing of the trees as the wind pass by, rustling
their leaves. Even the rippling water, a gushing bubbled melody added
to become the most peaceful melody she have ever heard.
Unknown to her, a pair of amber-gold eyes were watching
her. He hid behind the trees, unsure whether she would want to see him.
Afraid she would spurn him. Li Xiao Lang, what have you become? You're
behaving like Eriol. A fool!
"Ying Fa," he called her name.
Her head snapped up with a start but she didn't turn to
look at him. Neither did she speak.
"I- I just wanted to say-" he broke off. Apoloqizing never
came easy for him. Back at the mansion he had never had the need to
apologize no matter what his mistakes were. A nod on the head was
usually sufficient enough.
"Hai?" she encouraged.
"I didn't mean to..oh damn it. I'm sorry," he said briskly and roughly.
Sakura looked up at him with forgiveness in her eyes. "I
don't know why but I couldn't stay mad at you for long."
The tension in his body left and he was able to relax once
more, "That's good. I'm glad. I see you've found my river," he said.
"Yours?"
"Yes, all the lands in Lothstone belongs to the Li's you
know. But this river is special, something important that I have forgot
happened here. Perhaps, it drew you here just as it drew me here."
She smiled at him and he sucked in his breath. Beauty.
"Ying Fa, may I hold you?" he asked her in such a gentle
voice that it almost brought tears to her eyes.
All she did was she hauled her body straight into his arms.
The force caused him to topple backwards as he caught her. The soft
carpet of grass blanketed his fall and he could see her brown head
lying on his chest. Then she lifted her head and their eyes clashed.
The moss-green eyes darkened to velvet green and his amber-
gold eyes became a smoldering molten gold. She could hear his
heartbeat, thumping at the same rhythm as hers, as one. His feelings
were hers and her feelings were his, they were sharing each other's
soul. Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, they were refitting into
each other. It was like..
Like a wormhole.
Being drawn together, joining.
A simple touch was electrifying.
And a kiss, a fusion of lips, such a delicious sensation.
Their skin tingled as if feather light touches were trailed across
their skin. Sweeping, rushing waves of bliss swept through them.
And the kiss deepened. The overhwelming feeling continue to
intensify. Almost like a hot sun rising slowly from the morning. The
heat of their kiss warmed them, like an drug they continue to want
more.
An addiction.
It took all of Xiao Lang's will power to pull away. He knew
he would have carried it too far and Ying Fa would have let him, as
caught up in the kiss as he was. Her hands were locked around his neck
tightly that his head was only inches away from hers. At such close
proximity, it made him a ravenous wolf who wanted to devour the girl in
front of him.
"Ying Fa," he groaned huskily.
She looked up at him with hazy eyes. Her body ached for him. "Xiao Lang."
"We'd better stop," he told her and unwind her arms from
his neck. He moved away from her, making a distance between them. He
needed his space, to sort out his thoughts for a moment.
Sakura felt ashamed of herself. She had been wanton in his arms.
Even as a child you were drawn to him, a voice whispered in her head.
Child?
"Ying Fa, I'll see you here again on the morrow," Xiao Lang
said softly to her as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
She stiffened and nodded shortly. He placed a kiss on her
neck and left, like the wind itself. Sakura was left standing there
alone to ponder, of the things that had happen, of her own feelings.
You're afraid of being torn apart just like before, the
voice came again.
I must be going mad, she thought. I'm starting to hear voice in my head.
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