Disclaimer: Oops! I've been kinda bad about this but I am not fond of typing the same things over and over again so I'll say it here and now. I do not own Magic Knights Rayearth or the OAV, CLAMP does.
~*...*~ character's thoughts
~*~... ~*~ flashback
~*+*~... ~*+*~ dream
This is just going to be a little background curiosity for my upcoming MKR story. Don't worry if you have questions, this is not supposed to make sense just yet. And when my other story comes out, I strongly urge you to read this again and see if it doesn't make any more sense. If you still have questions that you want answered, my e-mail is posted and I will get back to you. But please make the e-mail title obvious or I will more than likely delete it thinking it's something I really don't want to read. Enjoy.
^_^ This is Clef's POV... just thought I'd mention that.
Little late night reading
~*Say what?*~ I rubbed my eyes and read the same lines over again for the third time. I shook my head and put the paper down. Standing out of my chair I walked around my study for a moment. My eyes were tired and my vision was blurred. ~*I have to finish this.*~ I sighed and tried to blink away the blurriness. I glanced at my desk; papers were scattered about the middle and on both of the opposing sides were stacks of documents. I had a long way to go. ~*Well Clef... you volunteered for this.*~ I reached up and lifted the jeweled headband off my head. Placing it beside my staff, I removed the long sweeping collar stretching passed my shoulders. I felt lighter, but unfortunately, this did nothing to fuel my eagerness to finish tonight. I folded my arms and gazed wearily at my desk. ~*If I keep on like this, I'm more than likely to fall asleep on top of my work!*~ I shook my head and sat down again. ~*Nevertheless, what I get done tonight...*~ I paused to let out a yawn. ~*I won't have to do tomorrow.*~
I went through pages as quickly as possible, still yawning occasionally. Each page seemed to be identical to the first. Each had scribbled on it, a feeble attempt to capture a supposedly difficult situation.
I must admit, as much as I am ashamed to, things have been more strenuous without the pillar. And each time that thought crosses my mind I curse my very name! Princess Emeraude no longer suffers from her duties. Her heart's desire was granted. And I am happy for her! Secretly, this has been what I wished for her, was happiness. But I had always hoped to take on the responsibility of the consequences myself, and not step aside to allow three innocent girls to take the fall. Why did I step aside? Why did I let Umi and...
That very moment when her name ran through my mind, I could focus on nothing else. Even as my eyes skimmed down the page, the words seemed to rewrite themselves into my heart's description. I smiled and leaned back in my chair. "Umi..." I whispered. ~*I can't help but wonder... will I see you again? Will I have a chance to truly thank you for what you've done for Cephiro?*~ I shook my head but her face wouldn't leave my mind. ~*Focus Clef. You still have a long way to go.*~
Regardless of what methods I tried, my mind dwelt on Umi. If anyone knew that at that moment I was thinking solely of her and asked me why... I don't think I could answer. For a moment, it just seemed like the natural thing. Especially after all the headaches she gave me! Still, I couldn't help but smile. To give my eyes a rest I let my mind pull me back to the first time I laid eyes on her. She was so worried about her fencing competition to listen to me. Even as I thought of her from that moment on, my thoughts were less than favorable or courtious. I had no way of knowing that I had only seen one side of her. Even then, I hadn't paused to read further into her intitial reactions. ~*And then she came to me... that one... night.... Why did she come to me? The castle was full of tension that night true, but why me? Wouldn't it have seemed more practical for her to talk to Hikaru or Fuu? After all, they were so close...*~ I shook my head. ~*Forget about her. Chances are I won't see her again anyway.*~
Still, my mind brushed the dust from one occasion when I had heard Umi talking to Presea on one of her visits; so many months ago.
~*~
"Presea," Umi said. "Where's Clef? I haven't seen him since we arrived and I just wanted to thank him."
"Oh?" Presea asked. "Well, now that you mention it, I haven't seen him either." I couldn't help but stop with my back against the wall around the corner and listen. "Although, I have noticed that the door to his study has been closed lately. I guess he's been seeing to Cephiro's affairs."
"When does he come out of his study?"
She shrugged, "to be honest, I can't remember seeing his door open. And believe me, I've been watching. I didn't want to say this to anyone, but, I'm worried about him. Like I said, his door's always closed and locked. I've asked around, and there's no trace that he ever comes out, even to eat."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I can only assume that he's looking after Cephiro's wellbeing."
"I know Clef loves Cephiro," Umi said softly. I could also detect another tone in her voice... sadness? Worry? Was she concerned for me? "And I can't begin to imagine how it would be to watch your home crumble around you with no hope of saving it. I can only imagine the relief he felt when Cephiro was saved. But... Clef has always taken so much responsibility for everything. I know he thinks it's his responsibility to watch over Cephiro and its people, but one person can't do it alone. That's why Hikaru got rid of that stupid Pillar system." Her voice grew softer and I could barely make out what she said. "I'm afraid it'll go too far and something will happen to Clef like what happened to Princess Emeraude."
~*~
~*Umi... you needn't worry about me. My tasks are not as demanding as those of Princess Emeraude. Still, I pray you will never lose your kind heart.*~
The next few lines my eyes glanced over made my blood run cold. I read it again and again. ~*This can't be right!*~ I madly read the entire page. "... last recorded inhabitant of Sesque annihilated by bounty hunter on a trade route to Autozam." I let the page fall from my hands and sighed. "Just another notice that yet another so called 'fiendish species' has been hunted to extinction. What was it this time?" I read the description on the second page. "... white hair, pure blood glistening like crystals in the moonlight, eyes shining like silver even in the shadow of death... someone definitely set out to glorify this corpse. Hm... even this man's last words were recorded." My eyes widened as something about the language struck a familiar cord. ~*Deno-queh ishee-tar pampu. Coo-watha imboe man-gi lil-luka.*~ I leaned back, arms crossed. ~*I know this language.*~ I glanced at the first line again. ~*Sesque... so then this man was the last... but that can't be right! The peoples of Sesque were peaceful. Why would they be hunted? Unless...*~ I felt my heart sink and my mind questioned its reaction. ~*Why am I so sad? Why can't this be right? I'm not remembering something, but I have never been to Sesque let alone met anyone from that nation. I have heard of the demands for the heads of its people. But... who were they?*~ My hand moved on its own accord to my mouth to stifle a yawn. I chuckled softly to myself. "I know the answers. Lafarga's told me in the past." I shook my head and, with a wave of my hand, the gleam on the walls vanished as the light in the room faded. Starlight poured down into my chamber from the circular skylight above; much like the one in the main hall. I sat quietly for a moment, staring at the swirling manuscript. ~*I probably should keep...*~ Another yawn put that thought out completely. Standing, I walked to my bed in the corner as I removed the final articles of my robes. ~*I will finish...*~ My eyelids suddenly felt heavy as did my body. As soon as my head rested on the pillow I felt all my strength wash out of me. My eyelids closed down over my eyes and I rolled on my side. ~*... tomorrow...*~
My dream was black and empty, save for two voices. One surprisingly reminded me of my own, though I sounded as though I was five or six hundred years younger. My voice did not seem to carry the same wise, confident tone that now-a-days took many people by surprise. I sounded the exact opposite. But the voice that answered my own was always calm and collected, until the end.
~*+*~
"He just doesn't understand you Clef," said a soft voice in a sympathetic and gentle tone. "But he and I both know how hard you're working to succeed, and you will. This is just a minor setback."
"Minor?!" my voice retorted. "How can you call this minor?! My master's disgusted with me!"
"Perhaps he just had a bad day..."
"Oh so he took it out on me?! Yeah, that makes things much better!"
"I'm just trying to help Clef."
"You want to help me?" My tone was sharp and sarcastic. "Then maybe you can change my master's disposition. Maybe you could learn magic and teach me since you claim to know me best!"
"I never said I knew you best."
"Then how well to you actually know me?"
"Well... I..."
"What?! Now you're saying you don't know me!"
"We're friends..."
"Are we? You're living through me! You're using me to realize a dream you know you could never reach."
"That's not fair..." the voice said; beginning to crack and waiver.
"Truth hurts doesn't it? You told me yourself that's what you were doing!"
"I only want to see you succeed where I know I could never."
"See! You admit it!"
"Yes... I admit it. I wish I could learn with you instead of learning from you. I'll do what you ask of me Clef. All you have to do is say it. What do you want me to do?"
The words that followed afterward, I didn't hear. An image appeared; far away like a shimmering star. In the background I could hear myself screaming, "what are you doing?! Don't! I didn't mean it!"
A young girl's scream rang in my ears and the star flashed. I appeared to my own eyes in the fading light. My hands hovered out in front of me, waist level. I looked out into darkness, not noticing the weight in my hands or the warmth puddling in my palms.
Her voice rang out again and I looked down at my hands...
~*+*~
Oooo..... what's he got in his hands? I wonder.... So! What'd ya think? Reviews please and hopefully I'll be able to get around to making a second chapter. Still, this whole story is designed to bring up questions, not answer them. But I would consider these questions:
What is Clef holding?
Who is the girl in his dream?
Who were the people of Sesque?
Why doesn't Clef remember anything about them?
~*...*~ character's thoughts
~*~... ~*~ flashback
~*+*~... ~*+*~ dream
This is just going to be a little background curiosity for my upcoming MKR story. Don't worry if you have questions, this is not supposed to make sense just yet. And when my other story comes out, I strongly urge you to read this again and see if it doesn't make any more sense. If you still have questions that you want answered, my e-mail is posted and I will get back to you. But please make the e-mail title obvious or I will more than likely delete it thinking it's something I really don't want to read. Enjoy.
^_^ This is Clef's POV... just thought I'd mention that.
Little late night reading
~*Say what?*~ I rubbed my eyes and read the same lines over again for the third time. I shook my head and put the paper down. Standing out of my chair I walked around my study for a moment. My eyes were tired and my vision was blurred. ~*I have to finish this.*~ I sighed and tried to blink away the blurriness. I glanced at my desk; papers were scattered about the middle and on both of the opposing sides were stacks of documents. I had a long way to go. ~*Well Clef... you volunteered for this.*~ I reached up and lifted the jeweled headband off my head. Placing it beside my staff, I removed the long sweeping collar stretching passed my shoulders. I felt lighter, but unfortunately, this did nothing to fuel my eagerness to finish tonight. I folded my arms and gazed wearily at my desk. ~*If I keep on like this, I'm more than likely to fall asleep on top of my work!*~ I shook my head and sat down again. ~*Nevertheless, what I get done tonight...*~ I paused to let out a yawn. ~*I won't have to do tomorrow.*~
I went through pages as quickly as possible, still yawning occasionally. Each page seemed to be identical to the first. Each had scribbled on it, a feeble attempt to capture a supposedly difficult situation.
I must admit, as much as I am ashamed to, things have been more strenuous without the pillar. And each time that thought crosses my mind I curse my very name! Princess Emeraude no longer suffers from her duties. Her heart's desire was granted. And I am happy for her! Secretly, this has been what I wished for her, was happiness. But I had always hoped to take on the responsibility of the consequences myself, and not step aside to allow three innocent girls to take the fall. Why did I step aside? Why did I let Umi and...
That very moment when her name ran through my mind, I could focus on nothing else. Even as my eyes skimmed down the page, the words seemed to rewrite themselves into my heart's description. I smiled and leaned back in my chair. "Umi..." I whispered. ~*I can't help but wonder... will I see you again? Will I have a chance to truly thank you for what you've done for Cephiro?*~ I shook my head but her face wouldn't leave my mind. ~*Focus Clef. You still have a long way to go.*~
Regardless of what methods I tried, my mind dwelt on Umi. If anyone knew that at that moment I was thinking solely of her and asked me why... I don't think I could answer. For a moment, it just seemed like the natural thing. Especially after all the headaches she gave me! Still, I couldn't help but smile. To give my eyes a rest I let my mind pull me back to the first time I laid eyes on her. She was so worried about her fencing competition to listen to me. Even as I thought of her from that moment on, my thoughts were less than favorable or courtious. I had no way of knowing that I had only seen one side of her. Even then, I hadn't paused to read further into her intitial reactions. ~*And then she came to me... that one... night.... Why did she come to me? The castle was full of tension that night true, but why me? Wouldn't it have seemed more practical for her to talk to Hikaru or Fuu? After all, they were so close...*~ I shook my head. ~*Forget about her. Chances are I won't see her again anyway.*~
Still, my mind brushed the dust from one occasion when I had heard Umi talking to Presea on one of her visits; so many months ago.
~*~
"Presea," Umi said. "Where's Clef? I haven't seen him since we arrived and I just wanted to thank him."
"Oh?" Presea asked. "Well, now that you mention it, I haven't seen him either." I couldn't help but stop with my back against the wall around the corner and listen. "Although, I have noticed that the door to his study has been closed lately. I guess he's been seeing to Cephiro's affairs."
"When does he come out of his study?"
She shrugged, "to be honest, I can't remember seeing his door open. And believe me, I've been watching. I didn't want to say this to anyone, but, I'm worried about him. Like I said, his door's always closed and locked. I've asked around, and there's no trace that he ever comes out, even to eat."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I can only assume that he's looking after Cephiro's wellbeing."
"I know Clef loves Cephiro," Umi said softly. I could also detect another tone in her voice... sadness? Worry? Was she concerned for me? "And I can't begin to imagine how it would be to watch your home crumble around you with no hope of saving it. I can only imagine the relief he felt when Cephiro was saved. But... Clef has always taken so much responsibility for everything. I know he thinks it's his responsibility to watch over Cephiro and its people, but one person can't do it alone. That's why Hikaru got rid of that stupid Pillar system." Her voice grew softer and I could barely make out what she said. "I'm afraid it'll go too far and something will happen to Clef like what happened to Princess Emeraude."
~*~
~*Umi... you needn't worry about me. My tasks are not as demanding as those of Princess Emeraude. Still, I pray you will never lose your kind heart.*~
The next few lines my eyes glanced over made my blood run cold. I read it again and again. ~*This can't be right!*~ I madly read the entire page. "... last recorded inhabitant of Sesque annihilated by bounty hunter on a trade route to Autozam." I let the page fall from my hands and sighed. "Just another notice that yet another so called 'fiendish species' has been hunted to extinction. What was it this time?" I read the description on the second page. "... white hair, pure blood glistening like crystals in the moonlight, eyes shining like silver even in the shadow of death... someone definitely set out to glorify this corpse. Hm... even this man's last words were recorded." My eyes widened as something about the language struck a familiar cord. ~*Deno-queh ishee-tar pampu. Coo-watha imboe man-gi lil-luka.*~ I leaned back, arms crossed. ~*I know this language.*~ I glanced at the first line again. ~*Sesque... so then this man was the last... but that can't be right! The peoples of Sesque were peaceful. Why would they be hunted? Unless...*~ I felt my heart sink and my mind questioned its reaction. ~*Why am I so sad? Why can't this be right? I'm not remembering something, but I have never been to Sesque let alone met anyone from that nation. I have heard of the demands for the heads of its people. But... who were they?*~ My hand moved on its own accord to my mouth to stifle a yawn. I chuckled softly to myself. "I know the answers. Lafarga's told me in the past." I shook my head and, with a wave of my hand, the gleam on the walls vanished as the light in the room faded. Starlight poured down into my chamber from the circular skylight above; much like the one in the main hall. I sat quietly for a moment, staring at the swirling manuscript. ~*I probably should keep...*~ Another yawn put that thought out completely. Standing, I walked to my bed in the corner as I removed the final articles of my robes. ~*I will finish...*~ My eyelids suddenly felt heavy as did my body. As soon as my head rested on the pillow I felt all my strength wash out of me. My eyelids closed down over my eyes and I rolled on my side. ~*... tomorrow...*~
My dream was black and empty, save for two voices. One surprisingly reminded me of my own, though I sounded as though I was five or six hundred years younger. My voice did not seem to carry the same wise, confident tone that now-a-days took many people by surprise. I sounded the exact opposite. But the voice that answered my own was always calm and collected, until the end.
~*+*~
"He just doesn't understand you Clef," said a soft voice in a sympathetic and gentle tone. "But he and I both know how hard you're working to succeed, and you will. This is just a minor setback."
"Minor?!" my voice retorted. "How can you call this minor?! My master's disgusted with me!"
"Perhaps he just had a bad day..."
"Oh so he took it out on me?! Yeah, that makes things much better!"
"I'm just trying to help Clef."
"You want to help me?" My tone was sharp and sarcastic. "Then maybe you can change my master's disposition. Maybe you could learn magic and teach me since you claim to know me best!"
"I never said I knew you best."
"Then how well to you actually know me?"
"Well... I..."
"What?! Now you're saying you don't know me!"
"We're friends..."
"Are we? You're living through me! You're using me to realize a dream you know you could never reach."
"That's not fair..." the voice said; beginning to crack and waiver.
"Truth hurts doesn't it? You told me yourself that's what you were doing!"
"I only want to see you succeed where I know I could never."
"See! You admit it!"
"Yes... I admit it. I wish I could learn with you instead of learning from you. I'll do what you ask of me Clef. All you have to do is say it. What do you want me to do?"
The words that followed afterward, I didn't hear. An image appeared; far away like a shimmering star. In the background I could hear myself screaming, "what are you doing?! Don't! I didn't mean it!"
A young girl's scream rang in my ears and the star flashed. I appeared to my own eyes in the fading light. My hands hovered out in front of me, waist level. I looked out into darkness, not noticing the weight in my hands or the warmth puddling in my palms.
Her voice rang out again and I looked down at my hands...
~*+*~
Oooo..... what's he got in his hands? I wonder.... So! What'd ya think? Reviews please and hopefully I'll be able to get around to making a second chapter. Still, this whole story is designed to bring up questions, not answer them. But I would consider these questions:
What is Clef holding?
Who is the girl in his dream?
Who were the people of Sesque?
Why doesn't Clef remember anything about them?
