PS: I have a lot of people commenting on the couplings. I'm having conflicting reviews here! All I can say is this: if you don't like the pairing, I am sorry. I hope that you will continue to read this story, because it does have a really sweet (sweet as in "ah!" not sweet as in "cool!") plotline. I would really love to make everybody happy, but alas, I cannot. Please accept my humble apologies.
Book One
The Ways of Magic
"Focus," instructed Clow. "Creating a conduct is tricky business. It takes a lot of concentration."
Sweat rolling down her forehead, the cross-legged maiden tried to focus all her thoughts on the glowing orb in front of her. This was harder than it looked. In fact, it had taken her the better part of an hour to focus, even before the orb had appeared. Taking a deep breath, Serenity looked inside her self - something Clow had taught her - and focused on the center of her magic.
Clow smiled in amusement. Apparently she had been paying attention. He'd had his doubts. Who wouldn't, considering her thoughts were mostly up with the moon - literally. He chuckled remembering the week before when he had patiently tried to explain power sources.
"A power source is simple enough to understand," said Clow, looking at Serenity who was seated cross-legged on the floor of the ballroom. She looked at him, her gaze never wavering. "All sorcerers have inner magic, that much is evident, however, most - myself included - also like to draw power from another source. It helps with difficult spells and such, not to mention the fact that it keeps us balanced."
Ok, Serenity got the "it helps with spells part" but as to the "it keeps us in balance" part, she was a little confused. She got a funny mental image of Clow falling over. (A/N: I get funny mental images all the time!) This just confused her even more. Did the magic actually fill her up, as if it were water and she was the glass?
"That is partly correct," said Clow, amused at his charge's thoughts. "It mostly fills up your spirit. You will understand better once you become more in tune with your magic." Serenity nodded. "Now as for me, I draw my power from the sun, hence my conduct." Lifting his key before him, Clow concentrated and it became a golden staff with sun atop. "Now, my conduct takes the shape of the sun, as that is my power source. Now, you're going to have to figure out yours ~"
"The moon," said Serenity automatically, and in monotone. Clow looked at her questioningly. "Um, it's just that I've always felt a strong pull to the moon. It's just so elegant, and I would love for it to be my power source!"
At the time, Clow had been a little hesitant. After all, the moon was a mysterious, yet powerful source; an enigma if you will. Serenity was almost the complete opposite. She was cheerful and bubbly, despite the recent loss of her own... at least that's what he had thought at first.
Serenity was proving to be more of a mystery all the time. Every time he'd inquire about her home or family she'd abruptly change the subject. At first, Clow had thought that it was simply the fact that she was mourning, but it soon became apparent that that wasn't the case. He noticed that when he asked these questions, panic seemed to flit through her eyes.
Besides this, there were many other questions that needed answering. How was it that Serenity and Setsuna got along like they had known each other forever? Was Serenity from another planet? If so, why did the two women lie to him? Here's a better question: why couldn't he read Serenity's mind? Oh sure, there were a few moments, but for the most part, she had the best mental defenses he had ever seen.
It was time... Serenity could feel it. Somehow, she knew that the conduct wouldn't just appear, that she'd have to do something to call it forth, but what? She vaguely remembered Clow telling her about incantations, or chants. That's what she had to do.
"Oh star that holds the power of the solar system, guided by the moon, come forth and shine thy power! I Queen Serenity of the White Moon Kingdom command thee! Release!" Serenity chanted, the meaning of what she just said not quite registering in her mind.
The orb shone brightly as it lengthened into a staff. The rod of the staff was a gleaming white, with both a golden and white ball on each end. At the top, was a silver sphere, with perfect white wings on the side. On top of it, there was a white eight-pointed star with a golden upturned crescent in the middle. Height wise, the staff was about as tall as Serenity.
Clumsily standing up (tripping on the hem of her dress in the process), Serenity grabbed hold of her staff, which was floating horizontally in front of her. "I did it," she whispered, looking over the staff in front of her.
"Congratulations Serenity-sama," said Setsuna from the doorway, ignoring the understanding gaze of Clow. "I always knew you had it in you." She had in fact know… It was in fact, her job. She knew that today, Clow would learn the truth, and had already, so did not even bother hiding formalities.
Freezing at Setsuna's words, Serenity turned and whispered (well, as well as you could whisper to someone who was across the room) "I thought we weren't going to tell him about me being the you-know-what! Something about danger and all that?" That was what they had agreed wasn't it? I mean, why did Setsuna go and blurt out the secret?
"We weren't," agreed Setsuna, "but you seem to have told him." Seeing her queen's confused look, she elaborated. "You obviously don't remember what you said during your chant, which is understandable, considering you were in a state of deep meditation. You said, and I quote, 'Oh star that holds the power of the solar system, guided by the Moon, come forth and shine thy power! I Queen Serenity of the White Moon Kingdom command thee! Release!' Need I say more?"
"Whoops?" said Serenity meekly. Boy, was this ever an embarrassing situation. She had just blown her cover, without even knowing it! Only to her, she realized sighing. Something like this never would've happened to Rei or Ami! "Um, sorry I told Setsuna," she added.
"Well, it does answer a lot of questions," said Clow, smiling good-naturedly. Imagine that! He'd been instructing a queen for over a month! No wonder she had so much power.
"So... can I change back my appearance?" wondered Serenity. As much as the new appearance fit in to this world, she missed her lunarian form. It was like walking around in a body that wasn't her own. "Please?" she begged, putting on her world famous puppy dog eyes. Even Haruka, Princess (much to her dismay) of Uranus hadn't been able to withstand them.
"Oh all right!" Setsuna relented, sighing. "Just stop with the eyes!" By the Fates, those eyes were like weapons.
"Ok then!" smiled Serenity. "I shall be down for dinner! See you all then." Concentrating on her staff, it became a silver pendant of an eight-pointed star with an upturned crescent in the middle. "After all, no royal lunarian is complete without the hairstyle!" She quickly started out of the room, before screeching to a halt next to Setsuna. "Um, could you help me Setsuna?"
"Of course," replied Setsuna. Turning to her longtime friend, she said, "We will be down in time for dinner. I'm sure you can amuse yourself until then?" Smiling she ushered Serenity up to her bedroom.
"What to wear? What do wear?" chanted Serenity, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet while examining her bureau for a dress. She wanted something perfect for this evening; the first time Clow would see her in her lunarian form. Looking at her dresses, she saw nothing that seemed to fit.
"How about this?" suggested Setsuna, pulling something from her sub-space pocket. The first was a black dress, with v-cut at the front (which showed a fair bit of skin) and that ended three inches above the knee - something that wouldn't have gone over well with the people of the ton[1]. The second was a pair of robes - no scratch that - a magnificent pair of robes. The material faded from silver with navy stars at the top to navy with silver at the bottom. On the back was the Chinese symbol for love.
"Setsuna... thank you!" gasped Serenity. Quickly shedding her everyday gown, she donned the black dress and robes. Looking in the mirror, she concluded that she looked fairly pretty, but not what she had hoped for. The skin clashed greatly with the fabric, as did her hair.
Watching with a hidden smile, Setsuna waved her hand, and the terran glamour was immediately gone. Serenity's hair had turned back to silver-white, her skin back to pale and her eyes back into the infinite blue. Even Setsuna who always thought her queen looked lovely, was surprised. She could only imagine how the sorcerer would act... Snapping out of her reverie, Setsuna sat the royal lunarian down on the bench of the vanity and started combing her hair.
"Setsuna?"
"Yes Serenity-sama?"
"What's your relationship with Clow?" inquired Serenity quietly.
"Why do you ask?" wondered Setsuna suspiciously. If she knew Serenity, and she did, the queen wouldn't ask something without purpose.
"I was simply wondering," replied Serenity, gazing questioningly at Setsuna with the help of the mirror.
Sighing, Setsuna responded, "We used to court, during the first year I met him. I loved him, and still do to a certain extent, but it was not to be. He loved me as a sister, and I did not have enough time to make him feel otherwise, what with my duty to both the Time Gates and your mother." The Plutonian Queen noticed that Serenity suddenly became interested in her hands. "Serenity... I won't stand in your way if it is what you truly want. He and I are never to be again." She pulled her Queen's hair into the royal style.
Serenity nodded. "Thank you Setsuna. You have no idea what this means to me." She got up and hugged her friend and only remaining tie to her kingdom. "We best be getting downstairs before Clow starves," giggled Serenity.
The two royals made their way downstairs, Setsuna leading the way. They soon discovered that Clow was waiting for them in the dinning room. Setsuna entered first and announced her, much to Serenity's embarrassment. As she slowly walked in, her hands together in front of her and her eyes on the floor.
To say that he was shocked was an understatement. Setsuna had told them that Lunarians were known for their surreal beauty, being the descendants of Selene, but he had never actually seen one. A part of him wondered what had possessed the girl to change her appearance, but another reasoned, saying that this form wouldn't have gone unnoticed for long.
"My Lady," he said formally, taking Serenity's hand and kissing the back of it, thus causing Serenity to blush.
"Please, just Serenity," she said kindly. "I hardly think it's necessary for titles by now."
Chuckling, Clow replied, "I believe you're right." Taking her hand, he escorted her to her chair, dutifully pulling it out. Smiling in thanks, Serenity sat down, as did Clow, seconds later.
Setsuna (who was already seated) watched with happy eyes, despite a small prick of sadness in her. Yes, everything was going according to plan. Besides, it was meant to be...
6 months later
"...So you see, by combining Eastern magic with Western magic, and confining it into theses cards, it will create a simple yet effective way of doing small spells, such as lighting up the house," explained Clow to Serenity, who was listening with interest. The sorcerer had just finished telling the Moon Queen about his project. He hadn't really had a choice, seeing as she walked in and wondered why he was yelling.
The combining and confining of the magic didn't seem to be working. Clow had tried a million different ways of doing the same thing, and yet, it didn't seem to work. Why?
"Can I ask you a question?" asked Serenity. In the past few months, she had mastered her magic. It went well beyond her, and indeed Setsuna's, expectations. As it were, she knew almost as much about magic as Clow did. Upon hearing Clow's dilemma, she had instantly gotten inspiration.
"Alright," answered a curious Clow. "Go right ahead."
"What power sources did you use?" inquired Serenity seriously.
Startled at the question, Clow replied, "Well, I used magic from both the East and the West, and simply used my magic." What was the point of her question? Did she know something he didn't?
"I see," said Serenity, smiling secretly. Clow raised an eyebrow at her and wore an expression that clearly said 'tell me what you know'. "You need balance," said Serenity. "You said that you used Eastern and Western magic, well, there's your problem. Eastern magic mostly draws power from the sun while Western magic mainly draws it from the moon. Since you draw your magic from the sun, it's unbalanced, both within a single card and the entire collection. You need to split the power down the middle. Half of the cards need to draw power from the moon and the other from the sun. As for a single card, it should mostly be made of magic from it's source, but should also have some of the other."
Absorbing all this, Clow found that she did make sense, perfect sense in fact. Why hadn't he seen it? "How did you know this?" inquired Clow.
"A teacher of mine once explained to me the meaning of magical balance," smiled Serenity. "I have not forgotten." She didn't say that she remembered every aspect of that day, for it was one of the best she had had.
"I see," murmured Clow, deep in thought. He needed to balance… balance. It suddenly hit him. "Serenity, would you do me the pleasure of assisting me in my project?" She was after all, almost his complete opposite. He was male, she was female, he was tall, she was petite, he drew power from the sun, she, from the moon, he was from earth, and she was from the moon. It was perfect.
"M-me?" stammered Serenity. Was he asking what she thought he was asking? "Are you sure you want me to help you? Wouldn't you rather do it by yourself?" This was his project, and she did not want to intrude.
"I would love to have you by my side," said Clow warmly.
For a second, Serenity thought he meant something else… but she quickly dismissed the idea. It was absurd. "If you'll have me, then nothing would make me happier," said Serenity sincerely.
Sweat glistened on both their foreheads as they poured all their magical force into the final two. This was it. After these two, the Light and the Dark, were complete, the Clow Cards would be complete. After so many hours of hard work, it would all pay off.
Both clutching their staffs, both pointed towards the two final cards, they concentrated even harder. The cards were 2/4 finished, so it wouldn't take long. Serenity looked at Clow, who nodded and they both concentrated at once. As the magic surged forth, and the cards completed themselves, a golden symbol appeared on the floor beneath them: a sun with a crescent moon on the side. They were both in their own circles, and yet, were part of one larger one, symbolizing independence within unity.
Promptly, both magicians fell to the floor out of exhaustion. Creating magic was hard work; very draining. As they smiled at each other, the Clow Cards floated up and started circling them.
Getting to his feet, Clow walked over and help Serenity to her feet. They both looked at their creations in wonder. "You did it," whispered Serenity. "You made your dreams a reality."
"No," protested Clow. "We did it." He took Serenity's small hands in his own. "Thank you Serenity," he whispered, peering down at her. She was in her normal Lunarian form. Throwing caution to the wind, he leaned down and gently captured her lips in his own.
Not daring to believe it was true, Serenity kissed back. How long had it been since she realized her feelings? Too long, in her opinion. She lost herself as the kiss became more passionate. Her fingers got lost in his hair as he pulled her closer. Oh she didn't want this to end... but unfortunately, it had to.
"I have wanted to do that for a very long time," confessed Clow. He wasn't sure exactly when his feelings for her had began, but one morning he woke up and realized something: he was in love with Serenity. Of course, this hadn't affected his demeanor in the slightest. He had still acted the way he normally did with her.
"Me too," smiled Serenity.
The two pulled apart as the cards began separating themselves. Half the deck went to Clow, while the other went to Serenity. "I think they want you to be by my side as their mistress," smiled Clow. He pulled her close again. "And I think it's what I want as well..."
A/N: Ok, I know there is a least one person out there who is really mad at me for making this pairing, but I swear, I have the whole plotline set up, and you won't be disappointed! At least... I hope not. o.O So pleaaaassssseeee keep reading, even if you don't like the pairing, cause I promise it will get better.
But yeah, so you're all thinking, "Wow! That whole thing with balance, cards and symbol really make sense! How did you come up with it?" To tell you the truth, I have no idea! It just came to me one day. So if you think you were surprised in this chapter, just wait until you see what I have in store for the next few! Muahahaha!
