Caught in a curse
Chapter 7
Author : butter-fly
Arigato gozaimasu for the reviews and comments, minna-chan. Oh, to answer your question, it won't be long till I finish it, I'm thinking 10 chapters will be enough or maybe lesser. I want to concentrate on my other piece, Timeless. I'm thinking a little visit from someone from the past will certainly stir things up. Hey, can anyone translate Chinese?
The flutterer; Butter-fly :)
* * * *
Eriol waited patiently for his cousin to appear, his mind mulling over what Tomoyo had said to him before about Ying Fa. His ears pricked at the sound of footsteps striding up the stairs and he turned to face whoever it was. Xiao Lang muttered a good morning to him and threw himself on one of the couches.
"Bad night?" Eriol asked, hiding a grin.
Xiao Lang raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Am I that transparent?"
Eriol threw his head back and laughed, "With black eye bags I would have to say so."
"Well, that's enough about me. I wanted to ask you something," Xiao Lang said dismissing the whole black eye bags thing.
"What about?"
"About Ying Fa, Do you remember if I've met her when I was a child?" he asked uncertainly.
There was no reply from Eriol and a brooding silence settled over them.
"No, I'm certain I've never met her before. Why the sudden question?" Eriol asked him back.
"It's just I'm wondering why I'm so attracted to her as if we're opposite sides of magnets, it's like something is drawing us together,' Xiao Lang answered.
"You both were just meant for each other," Eriol said reasonably.
Xiao Lang shook his head, "No, it's more than that. When I first saw her, we connected. And until now, I still don't know completely about her past. When we're together all I can think about is her."
"Tomoyo told me that Ying Fa originally stayed in Lothstone before moving to Riviera. She's convinced something bad happened to her that cause her to move."
Xiao Lang rubbed his jaw as he paced around the room. "I need to find out. But how?"
Eriol moved towards the shelves which held thousands of books, some centuries old. "What about a remembrance spell?" he asked, looking for the right title.
"A spell? Do you think it'll work?"
"It just might. It depends on whether you recognize her or not," he answered, flipping the pages of the thickly-bounded book in search of the spell.
"I will," Xiao Lang said confidently.
"Well," Eriol said as he looked up from the book to face him, "You need something of hers, so that you can trace her presence in your memories."
"Like what?"
"Something she wears, clothes or jewelry."
"Where's your wife? I need to talk to her," Xiao Lang said all of a sudden.
"You what?!" Tomoyo almost shouted.
His cheeks took on a red blush, "Her clothes. Any piece," he hissed at her.
It was Tomoyo's turn to turn red and she began to giggle helplessly, "Oh, I guess I misunderstood."
Then she turned on her heels to go to Sakura's room and then she thought of what he had said earlier mumbling to herself, "But he didn't have to say I want her private clothes."
* * *
"So long," her coarse voice whispered to herself. The bracelets and small bells on her hands and ankles jingled as she made her way to the window of her moving caravan. She touched her own face, feeling the rough texture of old age. She was too old now; being 80 years of age and having outlived a few young people.
"Obaa-chan, why have we come to this town? I thought we never come to a town where magic was stronger than ours," the young child who was with her said.
She smiled fondly at the young girl who looked so much like the woman she could not save many years ago. "I have been summoned here, Amaya. Don't worry we won't stay for long."
Amaya was a beautiful child; she was graced with dove-gray tresses and stormy gray eyes. Purity and gentleness resided in her features. She had chosen for the girl the name Amaya which meant 'night rain' seeing as she was born at such a night.
"I don't like this place, obaa-chan."
She held out her hands and the little girl ran into her arms. Amaya was enveloped into the warmth of her grandmother and she smiled contently. Her grandmother smelled like those damask roses, exotic and wise. She had grown up without her parents with only obaa-chan to guide her. And obaa-chan had brought her around the world, travelling in the gypsy caravan. It was like with a family and it felt very nice.
* * *
Ye Lan kneeled in front of the statue of the Jade Emperor. Her black eyes beseeching the God to help her, to give her a sign of what she must do to get rid of the girl. She raised both hands with their palm facing each other and prayed.
"Ye Lan," Li Yang spoke gently.
She slowly stood up and turn to face her husband. He looked tired and drained and her eyebrows creased with worry. "What is wrong, Yang?"
"It's nothing to worry about. Some old fool released an ancient spirit and it took a lot of energy to send it back to where it came from," he explained to her.
"Mei Ling is here," she told him.
His eyes widened and he let out a sigh, "Rae Qing's daughter. Is this necessary, love?"
"She's a worthy candidate for our son. Besides she said she would do it, get rid of the girl," Ye Lan said.
"But he doesn't love her. Xiao Lang seems contented and happier than I've ever seen him when he's with that girl."
"I still won't have it. Don't you know how it would look like if our heir marry some gypsy's daughter?" she asked, her tone raising a pitch higher.
"As long as he performs his duty, the elders and I have agreed that he may do as he wish."
Her jaw grew taut, "You were discussing this..without me."
"You've been unreasonable about this and lower your tone."
She wanted to scream at him but checked herself for this was the hall of Gods, the sacred temple where it was important to lower you tone. It was a sign of respect to the Gods.
"Mei Ling will succeed," she said determinedly and stalked out of the temple, refusing to look at him.
Li Yang was actually worried about his wife, she had become thin and pale these few days. This 'getting rid of her' was damaging her own health and mentality. But she was determined and when she wanted she could become as stubborn as she could be. Such a difficult woman, why did he marry her in the first place? Then he smiled, the answer was simple. He loved her.
* * *
"Ying Fa, hey wait up," Xiao Yue said as she came running up to her.
Sakura stopped and waited for her to reach. "Ohayo Xiao Yue-chan," she said cheerfully.
"Good morning. I wanted to ask you whether you wanted to go with me to the market today," Xiao Yue said brightly.
Sakura's face dropped, "I can't. Lady Li wants me to help her embroidery today," she said disappointedly.
Xiao Yue linked arms with Sakura and grinned, "Not to worry, I'll handle my mother."
"The market?" Ye Lan asked. Her second daughter had come to her asking to let Ying Fa follow her to the market. She thought for a while whether she should agree.
"Yes, Ying Fa can help me carry some stuff I want to buy," Xiao Yue added.
"All right then, be back before sunset," Ye Lan replied and went back to her sewing.
When they were outside of the mansion, Sakura felt a huge weight were lifted off her shoulders and her smile was brighter than the sun.
"Poor Ying Fa, mother can be so trying sometimes," Xiao Yue said to her kindly.
"Iie, she's very nice," Sakura said defensively.
"Tsk, tsk don't lie to me. I know my mother. She can make any person's life miserable if she want to," Xiao Yue said dryly.
At this Sakura smiled lightly and averted her gaze towards the ground.
"Little brother likes you a lot, she'll give in after a while," Xiao Yue said comfortingly. "Come on, I got you out of the house to enjoy the carnival they're having in town."
"A carnival?" she asked.
"Oh, yes. It is so fun at this time of the year. I can't wait to eat those sticky candy stuff they have and I heard this time gypsies will be there," Xiao Yue said excitedly.
"Arigato, Xiao Yue-san," Sakura said meaningfully. She really apreciated Xiao Yue's effort to even invite her to come along.
Xiao Yue plunked her hands on her hips and said, "Forget it, I want to have fun and you're going to have fun as well. Let's run." With that she took Sakura's hand and pulled her along down the road.
They arrived at the town breathless and gasping for air. They were both amazed by what the town had been changed to, brightly colored banners hung from one side to another complimented by flowers and ribbons.
"Wah!" Xiao Yue exclaimed.
"Sugoi, Sa-Ying Fa you're here!" Tomoyo's bright voice came.
"Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun."
"This way, Ying Fa. There's this monkey show I want to see," Tomoyo said as she dragged Sakura along with her completely forgetting about her husband and Xiao Yue.
He faced Xiao Yue and said wryly, "Sometimes I wonder who is she married to."
Xiao Yue giggled and together they followed Tomoyo and Sakura who were way ahead of them. They watched the monkey show with fascination, the owner managed to make the monkey turn somersaults and juggled small pebbles.
"Gypsies!" Xiao Yue shouted, pointing towards the caravans once the show was over. The gypsies wore distinctive dark colored clothes and huge loop earring decorated their ears. They also wore many silver bangles and bells which jingled when they move.
"Let's go then," Tomoyo said.
Eriol frowned, something wasn't quite right here. Why were the gypsies here? He had never seen any in Lothstone before, they never did like to come to a town where another magic was more dominant.
"Eriol?" Sakura asked. She saw him standing absolutely still when Xiao Yue had said gypsies that she grew worried.
"Yes, Ying Fa. Shall we?" he said smiling at her reassuringly.
She smiled sweetly at him and walked ahead, bumping into a little girl who fell on her back. She rushed towards the little girl and said, "Gomen nasai."
The little girl stood up herself and brush her skirts. She was a beautiful child. "I'm fine. Are you the one they call Sakura?" she asked.
Sakura started. How did this little one knew of her name? "Eh, uh-"
"Ying Fa carries the same meaning as Sakura," Tomoyo answered calmly for her.
"It does?" Xiao Yue asked. Eriol cocked an eyebrow which made Tomoyo turn her head away quickly.
The little girl held out a hand, "My name is Amaya. Come then, my obaa-chan awaits you."
Sakura hesitated before taking the proffered hand. When she did, she knew that she made the right choice to follow the little girl. When the others tried to follow, Amaya stopped them, "Iie, you wait. Obaa-chan only wants to see Sakura-san."
"All right, we'll wait here for you," Xiao Yue said.
Sakura nodded and let Amaya lead the way. She brought her to the last caravan situated right at the end. It was quiet and serene here without the crowd.
"Why does your obaa-chan wants to meet me?" Sakura asked her.
"I don't know."
Amaya stepped into the caravan and called out, "Obaa-chan? I've brought Sakura here."
A hoarse voice replied, "Good, Amaya-chan. Won't you go play with Rei?"
"You want me out of the way, obaa-chan. I'll go but I'm not playing with Rei, she always gets me dirty," Amaya said and left.
Sakura stood at the stairs leading up to the caravan, uncertain what she should do. The old woman had said nothing to her yet.
"Come in, child," she said finally.
Sakura stepped up and walked slowly into the caravan which was filled with jasmine incense. An old crone sat on the plush pillows at the end of the caravan, her hands placed upon the small table in front of her. The crone gestured towards the cushion placed on the ground in front of her and Sakura went forward and sat on it.
"Who are you?" Sakura asked.
"You look nothing like your mother," was what she answered with.
Sakura blinked, digesting what she had just said, "You know my mother?"
"Hai, I knew her. She was a gypsy and I helped her give birth."
Sakura could hardly contain herself, she practically jumped from her seat. "Where is she?"
The face of the crone grew sad, "She died giving birth to you, child."
Sakura didn't know what to feel, only numbness and a sense of lost. All this while she had been playing guessing games on what happened to her parents, that they had given her away because they were in trouble themselves but she never guessed that it would be because they were dead.
"My..my father?"
At this the crone's face changed into a sympathetic one, "I do not know who your father is. Nadeshiko, your mother never told me about him. She just appeared on my doorstep one day seeking my help. She gave you this name, Sakura perhaps knowing that you will resemble that beautiful flower. When she died I gave you to May Kinamoto."
"I have no one in this world," Sakura said.
"That's not true, you have us. We gypsies stick together," the crone said.
"Arigato, that means a lot to me."
"Sakura, if ever you need a place to stay you can come to us. We will be your family. Remember that," the crone said before letting her go.
"Wait, how did you know that it was me..that the baby was me?" she asked.
The crone smiled, "You have the cherry blossom pin, don't you? It belonged to your mother and I spelled it so that when it fell into your hands it would call me."
Sakura's fingertips brushed the pin that was hidden in the pocket near her chest and thought of the person who gave it to her. Xiao Lang.
Sakura remained in a dazed condition throughout the whole day. Nothing the rest did could make her snap out of it and it puzzled them. And there was nothing they could do either; it was her thing to settle. She breathed in deeply, hoping that the fresh air would clear her troubled mind. There was nothing she could do actually, she now knew about her parents except the unknown father. But now she had another family other than Tomoyo and the Li's and it lighten up her.
* * *
"Are you sure about this?" Eriol asked the young master Li.
Xiao Lang nodded and with a hand gesture told Eriol to continue. Eriol picked up a handful of golden roots and threw them into the fire. The fire in the centre flared, it's flames turning from orangy-yellow to burning purplish-blue. They were gathered in the middle of the forest where the magic was more stronger and in the protective circle of trees, no one would spot them so easily. Eriol wearing his ceremonial midnight blue cloak had a leaf of the book where the spell was written. He cited it, "Of ancient spirits, of powers new and old, let him see through the past, we ask of you."
The wind picked up and almost blew the fire out. And Xiao Lang was in a trance with his eyes closed. He never moved from where he sat, in his mind he was floating and searching for Ying Fa. That memory when he was a child, of a reason why he kept feeling he would loose her if he didn't hold her tight enough.
It was as if he was flying at night, where the scatter of stars seem clearer and brighter. He felt weightless and very aware of his surroundings, and he watched the pictures playing in front of him, eversince he could think and talk properly. There was his mother, holding him closely to her bossom and his father teaching him the properties of novice magic. Also Eriol who was his playmate and now his closest confidant, his annoying sisters always giggling and always too glad to see him, and several people which was still alive and woking in the Li mansion.
As he moved on to his memory when he was supposedly eight, there was nothing there as if he never had any memories then. A little furthur was his childhood when he was nine. He stared back at the blank pictures and was puzzled over it. How can memories be simply lost?
Xiao Lang?
He turned at the voice...
Xiao Lang.
"Xiao Lang, wake up!" Eriol hollered.
He snapped awake, and lifted his head to see Eriol staring down at him worriedly. "Eriol?"
"Thank the Gods, you were shaking like a leaf. I thought the spell had gone somewhat wrong," Eriol said, a little calmer.
He blinked and said, "It was so strange, I was looking at my memories when I was eight and there was nothing there." Then he realized that his body was still tingling, that he felt burning like he was having a fever.
"Eight?"
"Do you know something?" he asked, the heat was gone replaced by coldness which made him shiver.
"Well, you had a very high fever when you were eight Xiao Lang," Eriol explained.
"I did? No one ever mentioned about it."
Eriol shrugged, "You lived and we were all thankful. "
"How did I get the fever?"
"That was really strange. I never found out the reason, and no one dared mention anything about it mainly because Ye Lan wouldn't have it. Do you remember why you kept disappearing into the forest every day?"
"I disappeared as well? I don't remember anything," he answered frustratingly. Why didn't he know anything?
"Maybe the fever kind of made you forget then. I heard of that happening before," Eriol said.
"I need to talk to my mother," he stated.
* * *