A Place Unknown
Chapter 3
It had been a long and tiring walk from Omaska. Sakura and Syaoran had been walking for a few hours now, stopping only when necessary. They had pretty much walked in silence the entire way except for the occasional snatches of conversation.
About six hours had passed since they left Misumi's house. They were both getting extremely hungry, as they hadn't eaten since breakfast.
"Syaoran, I'm getting hungry and we have to eat or we won't be able to continue," Sakura said.
"I know," Syaoran replied, "but there isn't anything around to eat. And even if there was, we don't know what's good and what's bad."
Sakura had sat down against a large tree. She was very tired from walking all day. Syaoran was leaning on his sword deep in thought.
They remained silent for several minutes. Just as Sakura's eyelids started to droop, they heard a large cheer from behind the huge tree Sakura was sitting beside.
Sakura's and Syaoran's heads both shot up. They looked nervously at each other. An unspoken decision to check it out was made. They moved slowly, so as not to startle whoever was on the other side.
When they saw what was there they froze. It was an old medieval style village. It wasn't really big, but it wasn't small either.
Right away, they could see the reason for the cheers. People were milling through the streets. Coloured pennants were hanging everywhere, flapping in a gentle breeze. There were way too many people to fit in the amount of houses that were there, so Syaoran assumed that many of the people were just visiting.
"Wow, it must be some sort of festival," Sakura said. "We might as well have some fun while we're here. Come on!"
Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand and pulled him along behind her as she mad her way down the hill towards the village.
As they reached the entrance to the village, they were greeted by an old man in a colourful costume.
"Welcome, good sir and lady," he said. "Have thou come to join in the festivities?"
"Uh..."
"Yeah!" Sakura said.
"What's happening here?" Syaoran asked the man.
The old man looked at the pair of them with a surprised look on his face. "Does good sir and lady really not know of the Festival of Faeries?" he said.
"The Festival of Faeries?" Sakura repeated.
"One must come from very reserved place not to know of it," the man said.
"Yeah, well..." Syaoran trailed off because he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell him that they were from Earth.
"Never mind," the man said. "Come in, come in." The man led Sakura and Syaoran into the village, pointing out some of the more interesting attractions.
They hardly noticed them, however, because they were nervous being in such a crowded place with some guy they hardly knew and who talked very weird.
All of a sudden they were grabbed and pulled away from the old man.
"What's the big idea?" Syaoran asked their kidnapper.
Now that they had stopped, they could tell that it was a girl about their own age.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to startle you. It's just that you looked really uncomfortable with Old Zack over there, so I thought I would spare you a bit of agony."
"Thanks," Syaoran said to her.
"Yeah. That guy was really weird. Does he always talk like that?" Sakura asked.
"No," she replied. "Only during the festival. It must be the atmosphere. I guess he just can't resist."
"You've been really nice to us," Sakura said, "What's your name?"
"My name's Tiana. What's yours?"
"I'm Sakura," she replied. "And this is my friend, Syaoran."
Tiana's eyebrows rose slightly when Sakura introduced Syaoran as just a friend, but she didn't say anything. "Where are you two staying tonight?"
"We're not sure," Syaoran said. "We just got into town and we weren't really planning on staying."
"What? You're not staying?" Tiana asked. "You'll miss all the fun. Come on, stay a while. You can stay at my house. My parents won't mind."
"I don't know," Syaoran said slowly. Sakura gave him a pleading look. He sighed to himself. "Sure, why not?"
"Great!" Tiana said. "Come on, I'll show you my house." Then she started to head off.
Sakura turned to Syaoran and smiled. "Thanks," she said.
Syaoran blushed deeply as Sakura rushed to catch up to their new friend.
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When the three of them reached Tiana's house, Sakura and Syaoran collapsed on the couch, exhausted.
"It's getting late," Tiana said. "I'll find you something to eat and then you can get some rest. I'll show you the Festival tomorrow."
"Thanks," Sakura said sleepily.
Tiana went into the kitchen. When she came back, Sakura and Syaoran had fallen asleep. Sakura's head was resting in Syaoran's lap.
"I'll just leave this here," Tiana said to herself. She put the food on the table, turned out the lights, and left them to sleep.
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Sakura, Syaoran, and Tiana were sitting around a small table at an outdoor cafe, eating a small lunch after a busy morning. Tiana had led the pair through the festival, showing the sites and browsing the stalls.
Both Sakura and Syaoran were leaden with souvenirs. Despite many refusals, Tiana had insisted on buying them each something. It was also Tiana who persuaded them to let her buy lunch.
"Tiana? Did that man we met yesterday really say that this was the Festival of Faeries?" Sakura asked about halfway through their lunch.
"Yup. You heard right," Tiana replied.
"How did it get its name," Syaoran asked, becoming more and more interested.
"Well," Tiana said, "when Clow Rood was finally defeated, the borders of Thera were opened and others were able to come in. This included beings with magical powers. A race of faeries had come here to make a new home. At this time, much of Thera was experiencing a horrible drought. However the people who lived in this area of Thera welcomed the faeries and invited them to stay as long as they like. In return for the Theran's hospitality, the faeries used their powers to end the drought. And to this day, the soil around here is the best in all of Thera."
"Wow," Sakura said, "what a nice story."
"It's because of this that we celebrate every year," Tiana said. "Anyway, I've got some errands to run. You guys can explore on your own for the afternoon. We can meet back at my house for supper."
"Ok, see you later," Sakura said as Tiana set off. "Come on, Syaoran. Let's go."
The two of them walked through the busy streets, browsing the stalls.
Syaoran stopped to look at some stuff at one of the stalls. Sakura told him she'd just be up ahead.
"Come here, my child." Sakura snapped to attention when she heard the voice. She looked around to see where it came from and spotted a small woman, sitting at a booth, whom she didn't notice before. Apparently no one else noticed her either because everyone walked by without glancing at her.
"Come here," the woman repeated without looking up. Nervously Sakura made her way through the crowd towards the woman. When Sakura reached the woman, she realized she was gazing deeply into a crystal ball that was glowing fiercely.
"I know who you really are, my child," the woman breathed.
"Hoe?" Sakura jumped back in surprise. "Wha...What do you mean?"
"Do not lie to me, dear. You miss your friends and family don't you?" the woman said. "Tomoyo, Kero, and even Touya."
"Uh... I have to go now," Sakura said. She turned and ran to find Syaoran.
"You'll be back," the woman whispered, but Sakura was too far to hear.
"Hey, Sakura!" Syaoran said, running up to her. "There you are. It's getting late. We should get back to Tiana's house."
"Ok," she said. How did that woman know about everyone back home? Sakura wondered. It was pretty freaky.
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"Hi, Sakura!" Tomoyo said, as she walked into the classroom.
Sakura smiled at her best friend. "Good morning, Tomoyo."
"Settle down class," Mr. Tereda said. He started to take attendance.
Sakura was thinking to herself how nice it was to finally be back home. Thera was nice, but it didn't compare to Tomoeda.
When Mr. Tereda got to Syaoran's name there was no answer. In surprise, Sakura turned and looked at Syaoran's empty seat. He's probably just late, Sakura said to herself. He'll show up soon.
But the day wore on and still, Syaoran had shown up.
When Sakura passed by his empty desk at the end of the day, she started to really worry. Where is he?
Sakura said goodbye to Tomoyo and took a detour home past Syaoran's house.
She knocked on the door and when Wei answered was disappointed to find out he wasn't here either.
"Do you know where he is?" Sakura asked.
"No, I'm afraid not. He didn't return home after school yesterday," Wei answered.
"What?" Sakura said. "Oh, no!" She turned and ran home. When she got there she only said a brief "Hi!" before she bolted upstairs to her bedroom.
"Kero!" she said. "Syaoran's gone missing!"
"Huh?" he said, through a mouthful of food. "Who cares about that kid anyway. He was annoying and always got in the way, if you ask me."
"I care about him, Kero," Sakura accidentally snapped at him.
That was when Sakura noticed a glow coming from her desk drawer. She went over and opened it. She saw the stone that was given to her by Misumi. As she picked it up, she suddenly realized where Syaoran was.
"Oh, no!" she said. "He must still be in Thera. And without this stone, he's trapped there! Oh, Syaoran. I'm sorry."
Sakura lay down on her bed and cried into her pillow.
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Sakura woke with a start. It was only a dream, she thought. But it was so real.
She could feel the tears on her face and reached up to wipe them away. She didn't think she'd be able to get back to sleep, so she decided to go and sit in the living room until someone else got up.
As she walked down the hallway, Sakura noticed that Syaoran's bedroom door stood slightly ajar. She paused a minute and listened. The sound of his soft breathing seemed to comfort her.
She went to sit down on the couch. Contrary to what Sakura had thought, she had barely sat down before she fell asleep.
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Sakura woke to the sound of footsteps in the hallway. She looked and discovered it was Tiana.
"God morning, Tiana," Sakura said.
"Oh, good morning, Sakura," Tiana replied. "What are you doing out here?"
"Um... I couldn't sleep," Sakura said.
"How about some breakfast?" Tiana asked.
"Sure. That'd be great," Sakura said.
While Tiana was making breakfast, Syaoran came out from his bedroom.
"Good morning, Syaoran," Sakura said cheerfully.
"Morning, Sakura," Syaoran replied.
"Come and get it," Tiana called to them from the kitchen.
After breakfast Tiana told them that she would be busy again this morning and she would meet up with them later. Syaoran and Sakura went off into the crowds.
After a while they neared the place where Sakura had met the mysterious woman (neither of them knew this however).
Just then Sakura stopped in her tracks. "Sakura, are you all right?" Syaoran asked.
Sakura's eyes went blank and she levitated about an inch off the ground. She started to float off through the crowds with no problem, as if nobody noticed her. Syaoran ran to catch up to her. He, however, had a much more difficult time than Sakura of getting through the crowds.
After a few minutes, Sakura stopped moving and moved slowly back down to the ground. Once Syaoran had reached her, he realized that Sakura was standing in front of a small woman who never looked up from the crystal ball she had in front of her.
"What have you done to Sakura?" Syaoran yelled at the woman.
"It will do your precious Cherry Blossom no good if you lose your temper," the woman said to Syaoran, mockingly.
Syaoran turned to Sakura instead. "Come on, Sakura. Fight her. I know you can do it."
Inside Sakura's mind there was a fierce battle between sheer power and will power. Eventually, Sakura won and she came back to reality. When she did, she lost her balance and started to fall. But Syaoran was there in a flash to catch her.
When Sakura opened her eyes, she was surprised to see Syaoran's face so close to hers. She blushed a little.
"Are you ok?" Syaoran asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sakura said.
"Your powers are stronger than I thought," the woman said. "I have underestimated you. However, it will not happen again. Unlike that bird you fought, I have brains behind my strength. You will not beat me."
The woman suddenly grew to an incredible height, taller than all of the buildings. The people in the streets appeared to finally have noticed the woman.
"She must be a member of Clow Rood's army," Syaoran said.
"That explains a lot," Sakura said.
"We'll have to defeat her too," Syaoran said.
"Ok, I'll try," Sakura said. "Windy! Release and dispel!" The Windy card flew towards the giant woman and...went right through her!
"What?" Sakura and Syaoran both yelled at the same time.
The woman just laughed and moved closer to them.
"It's an illusion!" someone yelled from behind them. They turned around to see it was Tiana. "Find the source of its power...and hurry."
Sakura nodded to her friend and closed her eyes. She tried to sense where the woman's power was coming from. She could tell that there was a great source of power nearby, but she couldn't find where it was. She opened her eyes and saw the crystal ball right in front of her, glowing brighter than ever. She then noticed that the same mark that was on the bird was on the base that held the ball. That's it! she thought.
"Sword Card!" She swung at the crystal ball and it shattered.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the woman screamed. The image of the woman disappeared while the spirit that was inside the crystal ball came and floated to the stone that Sakura held out in her hand. It started to glow like the last time.
"Great job, you guys," Tiana said.
"Wait a minute," Syaoran said. "How did you know that we were the ones sent to defeat the demons?"
"I knew the whole time. That's why I took you in," Tiana answered. "I possess a small amount of magic too. I've been trained ever since I was a little girl to be able to recognize the ancient Spirit. I was supposed to watch over her and help her along her journey. There is one of us in every city and town throughout Thera."
"So there's more of you?" Syaoran asked.
"Yes, there is," Tiana said.
"Was Misumi one too?" Sakura asked.
"Yes. Misumi and I are very close friends actually," Tiana said.
Sakura took a moment to think all this new information over.
"Well, you guys should get moving," Tiana said. "If you leave now you can reach the next town by dark."
"Now?" Syaoran said. "Hold on just a few minutes." He started to run off, but bumped into Sakura. he mumbled his apology then kept running. Sakura stared after him, confused.
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Once Syaoran returned, they said goodbye to Tiana.
"Thank you for all your help," Sakura said. "You've been really nice." She went up to Tiana and gave her a hug. They started off again out of town. Once they were just outside of the borders they turned around and gave one last wave, then kept going.
To Be Continued...
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I can't believe I'm finally done!!!
Sorry it took so long to complete, but
I've already started Chapter 4.
However, in order to make sure that
I'm not writing this for nothing and
people are actually reading it. I will not post
chapter 4 until I get at least 20 e-mails
letting me know what you think about
my story(I accept flames). Sorry, but it has
to be done. So get e-mailing!
– Keroberous
March 8, 2002