Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura and this fanfic is simply a product of my imagination and I am not paid to do this.
Chapter VII: The Opalake Twins
Sakura looked outside the window of the library in Opalake Manor and watched as workers started putting up decorations in the garden.
Two days ago, Rhea had announced to them that they were having a Halloween Party at the manor.
"Halloween Party?!" Syaoran had protested. "Sakura is in grave danger and you're going to have a Halloween Party?!"
"Exactly!" Rhea had answered in a carefree voice. "Halloween's a special occasion!"
"She's right, Li." Eriol said after a minute of deep thinking. "People will be suspicious if we don't have a party and if we don't accept their invitations. It will be safer if we throw a small party so we could all keep watch over Sakura-san."
With this in mind, the party was planned immediately but the guests were mostly business partners of Opalake Internationale.
"Big brother calls the people he invited 'gold diggers'." Rhea once shared with Sakura. "He said that if you give them food and exotic things to look at, they'll leave you alone."
Sakura was sad that she wasn't able to go with her other friends. Naoko looked crestfallen when she turned down her invitation. Sakura felt like a big gap was formed between her and her old friends so they hardly talk to each other anymore.
"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo entered the room with Meiling.
Sakura nodded and smiled, Syaoran who was reading nearby, looked up from a book of complicated spells. "Meiling, what happened to you?"
Sakura looked at Meiling, closely and saw that she was sweaty and covered with soot.
"Guess." Meiling answered gloomily and sat down. "Can you help me, Syaoran?"
Syaoran nodded and made a small gesture with his hands and the soot disappeared.
"Subarashii (amazing)!" Sakura told him.
Syaoran blushed. "It was only in simple cleaning spell, it was nothing."
Tomoyo smiled with Meiling. "Rhea-chan surprised her in the kitchen, and the meal she was cooking burned." Tomoyo explained. "They chased each other until Rhea-chan disappeared somewhere."
"That girl is so weird and irrigating!" Meiling glared at Syaoran who was looking at her sternly. "Yeah, I know that Miss Rhea is one of the most powerful to have ever been born in this world and that she's a Li, but still, I can't stand her."
"You shouldn't blame her, Meiling-chan." Sakura told her. "After all, she's only a child."
"A child?" Meiling looked up in surprise. "She's the same age as us."
"Hoe!" Sakura's mouth dropped.
"She's 15?" Tomoyo asked.
"Yes." Meiling answered. She looked at her cousin. "You didn't tell them?"
"I guess I forgot." Syaoran answered.
"But how could that be?" Sakura started counting with her fingers. " Rhea-chan's 15 years old. Remus-san is 15 years old. Rhea-chan is shorter than Remus-san. They are brother and sister but Rhea-chan calls Remus-san big brother, but they're still the same age!" Sakura looked confusingly at Syaoran.
"They're twins, Sakura." Syaoran explained. "Fraternal twins. Master Remus is 30 minutes older than Miss Rhea."
"Oh." Sakura blinked. "But why does Rhea-chan asked so child-like?"
"Well, it's because –."
"Hold it!" Meiling interrupted Syaoran. "I asked you the same question many times in the past but you never explained it to me, but when Kinomoto-san asked, you answer immediately. What kind of a cousin are you?!"
Syaoran started sweating but Tomoyo giggled.
"A cousin that's in love of course!"
Meiling pouted and glared at Syaoran. "Well? Why does little-miss-perfect have a not-so-perfect behavioral pattern?"
Syaoran face looked serious. "Actually, I don't think I have the right to tell this, but…" He stared at Sakura. "Mother told me this a long time ago and I don't think it is really accurate but I'll tell all I know."
The three girls became quiet and listened to Syaoran with interest.
"Well, you already know that Miss Rhea and Master Remus are descendants of both the Reed and Clow family through their father's side, but they are also descendants of another magical clan from their mother's side, the Harthor family.
"The Harthor family is the oldest and one of the most powerful magical clans in history, dating back to Egypt 5000 years ago. Their mother, Sophitia, was the last of the Harthors.
"The Opalakes were born in Egypt but they grew up in England. I heard that they lived at Reed Castle, the ancestral home of the Reeds. Anyway, they said that Master Remus was considered the pride of the family but Miss Rhea was so sickly that she was regarded with shame."
"But that's not fair!" Sakura interrupted.
Syaoran nodded. "The Reeds were a proud family and they hated weaknesses. Anyway, Miss Rhea had a very unfortunate early childhood. When she turned seven and went to school, she surprised everyone by her extensive knowledge. Soon, she was too smart to stay at a regular school so she was taught at home, but still no one was able to keep up with her.
"When she reached nine, she started extending the limits of her natural magic and non-magical abilities. She was considered as a prodigy and soon, she became the best anyone has ever seen."
"That's wonderful, she was able to prove everyone wrong." Tomoyo smiled.
"Yes." Meiling nodded. "But you still haven't answered my question, why is she so immature?"
Syaoran stared gloomily at the floor. "When she was 10 years old,." Syaoran paused and looked at the three girls. "When she was 10 years old, her parents were attacked by a sorcerer with unknown motives. Her parents were killed and until, no one knows who the killer was or what happened to him."
Meiling became quiet and Sakura whispered, "What happened to Rhea-chan?"
"She was found unconscious on the murder scene, near her mother's body. She was on coma for six months. When she woke up, she wasn't the same again. The doctors say she suffers from something called 'Childhood Regression'. Mother explained that maybe she missed her parents so badly or maybe her lost childhood that she started acting as though she is young. She locked herself in her own world and she believed only what she wanted to."
The four of them became quiet and thought about Syaoran's story.
"That's why Master Remus is in charge of their company, because he had to take care of Miss Rhea." Meiling said, silently. " And here I was thinking that their parents were so dependent on their children that they made them work for them. It's so insensitive of me!"
"Rhea-chan…" Sakura looked at Syaoran. "It's so sad how Remus-san had to have a huge responsibility while he's still so young and how Rhea-chan suffers from a Psychosipical illness."
"It's 'psychological', Sakura-chan." Tomoyo corrected.
"Hoe! I'm sorry!"
Syaoran placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder. "At least they are happy. Miss Rhea may be strange but at least she's taking a more positive path to lessen her trauma."
"I don't understand what you said but if you meant that Rhea-chan is happy with her life, I guess I'm happy for her to."
Tomoyo checked her watch. "Sakura, we have to go home or Mom will get frantic again. Remember what happened last time."
"Yeah." Sakura stood up. "Goodbye, Syaoran-kun. Goodbye, Meiling-chan. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Sure." Meiling nodded.
Syaoran smiled. "Take care, Sakura."
Sakura smiled back. "I will." But as she left the mansion, her thoughts were heavy with the story Syaoran had just shared.
