Daphne: "All right, this is a very short chapter, but you will see why when
I post the next one! By the way...there is a little bit...all right, a
*LOT* of angst in this chapter and the next one...please don't be mad at
me, I just want to add some suspense!
~*~*~*~
Refuge
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 10.
*Two months later*
"Siefa is aggravating, do you know that?!" Syaoran announced one morning, when he and Sakura were taking a walk in his garden, which he had affectionately dubbed 'Garden de Ying-fa', named after his fiancee.
"How so?" She questioned, swishing her long skirts a bit, as a little rabbit hopped by on the path. She smiled as she watched it scurry over to its den in the ground.
"Well, she is so in love with your brother that she can't see straight, and she won't even admit it to herself!" Syaoran complained. Sakura giggled and looked up at him, her emerald eyes sparkling.
"Perhaps she doesn't think that she has a chance with him? Of course, I could assure her that her affections are returned. Touya is in love with her as well, I can see it every time he looks at her." Sakura mussed. Syaoran sighed.
"Maybe if they were to get married, Touya would stop bothering me all the time!" He groaned. She laughed.
"He is just overprotective of me. Ever since he agreed to stay here, while father went back home to straighten things up there, he has been very watchful of me. I think he believes that I too, may be snatched away, if he is not careful." She said softly. He flinched and pulled her closer, putting his arms about her waist. She smiled sweetly, and then melted into his arms.
"Oh! I have some news!" Syaoran suddenly remembered. Sakura grinned.
"Let me guess. Meiling and Omata have finally announced their engagement!" Sakura supplied. Syaoran laughed. Ever since they had returned, Touya's friend Omata had been hanging around Meiling, trying to get her attention. Meiling, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind; She ate the attention up.
"Not quite, although I do not doubt that it will be soon. No, what I have to say is much more secret." He stated. She frowned.
"Tell me, please." She begged, giving him her undeniable puppy eyes and making his heart melt.
"Fine, but Tomoyo must not learn of this, in case it raises her hopes and it all turns out to be false. That would destroy her." He said. She gasped.
"What? What is it?"
"Well, my sources tell me that there is most definitely someone running the Hiiragizawa kingdom, and from what I know, it is not a replacement ruler. Eriol may yet be alive. I have written to whoever is ruling presently, and now all I have to do is wait for a reply. If it is Eriol, then praise be, he is alive. If it isn't, then we will have to make peace with the new ruler." Syaoran finally said, after a pause. Sakura gasped again, and fell back against him.
"Really? He may be alive?! Oh Syaoran, if he is...then Tomoyo will be so happy!" Sakura squealed, causing him to smile. They had both been quite worried about the raven haired girl. Ever since the news of Eriol's 'death' had reached them, Tomoyo had become distant and quiet. She rarely spoke, she never smiled, and she was becoming paler and skinnier as the days went by. It was almost as though she were only a shell of the girl she had used to be. Gone was the happy, smiling, genki Tomoyo, and her friends worried over her greatly.
"She didn't eat anything this morning." Sakura said in an almost inaudible voice. Syaoran sighed.
"Well, we had better get back inside. Mother will be wanting us." He commented, changing the subject. He drew her close and then led her out of the garden.
~*~*~*~
It was true that Daidouji Tomoyo had changed; drastically. It had all started when she had received that letter. The one thing she had left of Eriol. Then it had progressed when she found out about Eriol's death. That was when the drastic changes had begun.
Tomoyo became withdrawn and silent. She rarely spoke to anyone, and never unless they spoke to her. She almost never touched her sewing things, and she had lost interest in everything that she had loved so much before. She seldom went outside, and when she did, it was at night. No one knew where she went, but they knew that she stayed out all night, returning without a word the next morning. She had become even paler than usual, and she had begun to become quite thin, almost dangerously so. She seldom ate, and when she did, it was only little bits at a time. All in all, her royal Highness, Princess Daidouji Tomoyo, had lost all interest in life.
Presently, she was sitting up in her tower bedroom, which she had refused to vacate, even though the queen had offered her a new, more comfortable room. She had locked herself in, and was now sitting at her window seat, her arms folded on the sill, and her chin resting on her folded hands, as she gazed listlessly out the window at the night sky. It was a full moon again, just like the night when...
'NO! Don't think about it. It was your own fault anyway. You yelled at him.' She thought, her eyes saddening even more than they usually were. Tears welled up in her eyes. She hadn't cried since the day that he had gone, but now...she wasn't sure if she could hold it in any longer. With a swift movement, she got up and walked over to the tiny desk that resided in a corner of the room. She opened a drawer, and then reached behind it, to a hidden door she had found a few days into her stay here. She opened the tiny hidden door, and then pulled out a slightly yellowed piece of paper. She opened it and saw the words that he had written with his own hand just one day before he left. Quickly, she sat down on the end of her bed and read it over again, some parts she read aloud, in an almost inaudible voice.
"I am sorry if I have caused you any bother, or any undue strain..."
"I love you, Daidouji Tomoyo. I always have, ever since I first saw you..."
"...read this letter through once...burn it in the next fireplace that you pass. I do not want this letter burdening you for the rest of your life, and I do not want you feeling guilty about anything you have said or done. I had all of it coming, and I deserved what I received..."
"I love you, Tomoyo and I wish you all the happiness in the world-"
After reading this, Tomoyo laughed bitterly. Happiness? How could she ever be happy again? He had told her to burn the letter, but she had never been able to bring herself to really do it. He had told her he loved her. And she never had the chance to answer him. With this thought, a wave of sorrow built up in her heart, rose to her throat, and choked her. She tried to swallow back the feelings as she rose from her bed and fled the room, still clutching the letter to her breast.
Tomoyo rushed out the back entrance and out into the gardens. Taking the same path that she had traveled two months before, on a night similar to this. She was wearing a simple lavender dress that had no decorations, bows or ribbons on it, which was quite unlike her. Her hair flew out behind her like a flag, as she began to choke back the tears that were coming so quickly to the surface.
With astounding speed, she broke out of the gardens and raced down to the dock, where she threw herself down on the bench and then rested her head in her hands, as she began to sob. Soft, heart-wrenching sobs that shook her whole being violently. After a moment, she lifted her head, and then rested her chin on her arms, which were laying on the railing of the dock. Listlessly, she watched the moonlight dance across the water, tears streaming down her cheeks, while her body still shook with overwhelming sorrow. The letter, now forgotten, lay on the dock behind her.
"Why?" She asked, looking up at the moon, her voice shaky and unstable. "Why?"
Little did she know, that someone had heard her words.
~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~
Refuge
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 10.
*Two months later*
"Siefa is aggravating, do you know that?!" Syaoran announced one morning, when he and Sakura were taking a walk in his garden, which he had affectionately dubbed 'Garden de Ying-fa', named after his fiancee.
"How so?" She questioned, swishing her long skirts a bit, as a little rabbit hopped by on the path. She smiled as she watched it scurry over to its den in the ground.
"Well, she is so in love with your brother that she can't see straight, and she won't even admit it to herself!" Syaoran complained. Sakura giggled and looked up at him, her emerald eyes sparkling.
"Perhaps she doesn't think that she has a chance with him? Of course, I could assure her that her affections are returned. Touya is in love with her as well, I can see it every time he looks at her." Sakura mussed. Syaoran sighed.
"Maybe if they were to get married, Touya would stop bothering me all the time!" He groaned. She laughed.
"He is just overprotective of me. Ever since he agreed to stay here, while father went back home to straighten things up there, he has been very watchful of me. I think he believes that I too, may be snatched away, if he is not careful." She said softly. He flinched and pulled her closer, putting his arms about her waist. She smiled sweetly, and then melted into his arms.
"Oh! I have some news!" Syaoran suddenly remembered. Sakura grinned.
"Let me guess. Meiling and Omata have finally announced their engagement!" Sakura supplied. Syaoran laughed. Ever since they had returned, Touya's friend Omata had been hanging around Meiling, trying to get her attention. Meiling, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind; She ate the attention up.
"Not quite, although I do not doubt that it will be soon. No, what I have to say is much more secret." He stated. She frowned.
"Tell me, please." She begged, giving him her undeniable puppy eyes and making his heart melt.
"Fine, but Tomoyo must not learn of this, in case it raises her hopes and it all turns out to be false. That would destroy her." He said. She gasped.
"What? What is it?"
"Well, my sources tell me that there is most definitely someone running the Hiiragizawa kingdom, and from what I know, it is not a replacement ruler. Eriol may yet be alive. I have written to whoever is ruling presently, and now all I have to do is wait for a reply. If it is Eriol, then praise be, he is alive. If it isn't, then we will have to make peace with the new ruler." Syaoran finally said, after a pause. Sakura gasped again, and fell back against him.
"Really? He may be alive?! Oh Syaoran, if he is...then Tomoyo will be so happy!" Sakura squealed, causing him to smile. They had both been quite worried about the raven haired girl. Ever since the news of Eriol's 'death' had reached them, Tomoyo had become distant and quiet. She rarely spoke, she never smiled, and she was becoming paler and skinnier as the days went by. It was almost as though she were only a shell of the girl she had used to be. Gone was the happy, smiling, genki Tomoyo, and her friends worried over her greatly.
"She didn't eat anything this morning." Sakura said in an almost inaudible voice. Syaoran sighed.
"Well, we had better get back inside. Mother will be wanting us." He commented, changing the subject. He drew her close and then led her out of the garden.
~*~*~*~
It was true that Daidouji Tomoyo had changed; drastically. It had all started when she had received that letter. The one thing she had left of Eriol. Then it had progressed when she found out about Eriol's death. That was when the drastic changes had begun.
Tomoyo became withdrawn and silent. She rarely spoke to anyone, and never unless they spoke to her. She almost never touched her sewing things, and she had lost interest in everything that she had loved so much before. She seldom went outside, and when she did, it was at night. No one knew where she went, but they knew that she stayed out all night, returning without a word the next morning. She had become even paler than usual, and she had begun to become quite thin, almost dangerously so. She seldom ate, and when she did, it was only little bits at a time. All in all, her royal Highness, Princess Daidouji Tomoyo, had lost all interest in life.
Presently, she was sitting up in her tower bedroom, which she had refused to vacate, even though the queen had offered her a new, more comfortable room. She had locked herself in, and was now sitting at her window seat, her arms folded on the sill, and her chin resting on her folded hands, as she gazed listlessly out the window at the night sky. It was a full moon again, just like the night when...
'NO! Don't think about it. It was your own fault anyway. You yelled at him.' She thought, her eyes saddening even more than they usually were. Tears welled up in her eyes. She hadn't cried since the day that he had gone, but now...she wasn't sure if she could hold it in any longer. With a swift movement, she got up and walked over to the tiny desk that resided in a corner of the room. She opened a drawer, and then reached behind it, to a hidden door she had found a few days into her stay here. She opened the tiny hidden door, and then pulled out a slightly yellowed piece of paper. She opened it and saw the words that he had written with his own hand just one day before he left. Quickly, she sat down on the end of her bed and read it over again, some parts she read aloud, in an almost inaudible voice.
"I am sorry if I have caused you any bother, or any undue strain..."
"I love you, Daidouji Tomoyo. I always have, ever since I first saw you..."
"...read this letter through once...burn it in the next fireplace that you pass. I do not want this letter burdening you for the rest of your life, and I do not want you feeling guilty about anything you have said or done. I had all of it coming, and I deserved what I received..."
"I love you, Tomoyo and I wish you all the happiness in the world-"
After reading this, Tomoyo laughed bitterly. Happiness? How could she ever be happy again? He had told her to burn the letter, but she had never been able to bring herself to really do it. He had told her he loved her. And she never had the chance to answer him. With this thought, a wave of sorrow built up in her heart, rose to her throat, and choked her. She tried to swallow back the feelings as she rose from her bed and fled the room, still clutching the letter to her breast.
Tomoyo rushed out the back entrance and out into the gardens. Taking the same path that she had traveled two months before, on a night similar to this. She was wearing a simple lavender dress that had no decorations, bows or ribbons on it, which was quite unlike her. Her hair flew out behind her like a flag, as she began to choke back the tears that were coming so quickly to the surface.
With astounding speed, she broke out of the gardens and raced down to the dock, where she threw herself down on the bench and then rested her head in her hands, as she began to sob. Soft, heart-wrenching sobs that shook her whole being violently. After a moment, she lifted her head, and then rested her chin on her arms, which were laying on the railing of the dock. Listlessly, she watched the moonlight dance across the water, tears streaming down her cheeks, while her body still shook with overwhelming sorrow. The letter, now forgotten, lay on the dock behind her.
"Why?" She asked, looking up at the moon, her voice shaky and unstable. "Why?"
Little did she know, that someone had heard her words.
~*~*~*~