It's me again. Thanks for your support. Sakura2649thanks sis for being there to review my work and for all the support and help that you've given me. And for all those anonymous people who've submitted reviews, thank you very much for encouraging me to continue my story.
Chapter 3 The Clow book
As they lay there, staring at each other's eyes, words could not escape their lips as they looked for answers in each other's soul.
In silence, they stood and started to look around. That was when they noticed that they were in a very, splendid Eden. It was truly a piece of heaven. Everything was calm and serene.
"Sakura." Shaoran called out, finally breaking the silence. She turned to him and noticed he was serious and was a little suspicious.
"Stay close and don't wonder off. This place is filled with so much magic and it feels different from your family's auras." He added as he went closer to her, anticipating any surprise attacks.
"I know but somehow it feels pleasant and comforting." Sakura answered.
"I don't trust it." He answered back.
Then they found themselves in a path leading deeper into the magical world. They followed the path. Sakura started to hum a song.
As they continued on the path, Sakura didn't stop humming until Shaoran said, "Do you really have to hum that song over and over again?"
"No."
"Are you nervous or something?"
"No."
"Are you afraid?"
"No. Hey, why are you so up tight? If you don't like me humming, just say so. You don't have to beat around the bush, you know." Sakura answered.
"I think I hit a nerve there." Shaoran said under his voice.
"What did you say?" Sakura questioned.
"Nothing. I just thought that a lady should be more composed." Shaoran answered.
"What does that mean?"
"Oh, nothing. I just thought that a lady should be quiet in cases like this. You know, in cases where you are not sure if it is safe or not."
"Yeah, well I thought knights were gentlemen."
"Where are you getting at?"
"Oh, I don't know. I just...you know, expected knights to be a little more courteous and wise not to make any rash statements towards others."
"Gee...I'm crushed." Shaoran remarked, smiling at her.
"Oh, did I do that? I'm sorry. Please, pardon my rudeness." Sakura said sarcastically with puppy eyes and a smile.
"Are you always this out spoken?" He asked.
"Are you always this articulate?" She returned, turning to face him.
They smiled at each other, surrendering to each other's personalities.
They then stopped walking as they realized that the path separated. They looked the other way and to the next before looking at each other.
"So, are we going to split up?" Sakura asked innocently.
"No. It's not a wise decision right now." Shaoran replied seriously, as he took a better look at both paths.
"I really think we should split up. We could cover more grounds that way. Whether there is a way or a dead end, we should meet back here before dark and from there we could decide which way we should go." Sakura insisted.
Before Shaoran could answer, a bright light coming from Sakura's coat distracted him. Sakura noticed it too and checked to see what it was.
It was the letter given to her by her mother. She opened the letter. She and Shaoran were both stunned as the words written there started to vanish before their eyes. Before long the paper was empty. As mysterious as the words disappearing, letters started to appear. The letters were then starting to form words and after a few moments, another letter was written on the page.
It read.
By now, Sakura, you are with the other chosen one who would be helping you eliminate the darkness. There lies ahead of you two paths. It is up to the two of you to choose the right path. But be warned, one path holds the start and the other holds the end. Don't let the appearances you see blind you and let you fail to see the true secret. May you choose the right path...look inside your hearts and there you will find the right answer.
"So, what do you recon we should do?" Sakura asked.
Shaoran didn't answer. He took the letter from Sakura and examined it clearly. As he handed back the letter, he looked at her and said, "This is serious and not only does our future depend on this but the world's as well."
"I know. I think we should feel our way through." Sakura answered back.
"You're right. Once we choose and start moving, there is no stopping or turning back, got that?"
"Yeah."
"Here take this." Shaoran then handed her his jacket.
"What for?"
"It's getting colder if you haven't noticed. Your cloak isn't going to be good enough against it."
"But what about you? You need this more than do."
"No. I'm trained to endure a lot more things than you, Sakura. We can't take any chances now. I promised Tsukihiro that I'd bring you to the palace."
"You promised Yukito to bring me to the palace? Then I suppose you told him that I'm alive." Sakura replied as she slightly blushed.
"Yes. So far, you are the only one who'd survived that army and we know that they won't stop unless you are dead. The Emperor already knows about you and he will be expecting you safe within the palace so that we would be able to guard and protect you." Shaoran explained.
"I see." Sakura then closed her eyes and started to feel her surroundings. Shaoran did the same thing and before long, they felt this energy coming from the path to the right. They quickly opened their eyes.
Without saying a word, they started down the path.
"Stay close to me. We don't want you to almost get killed again, do we?" Shaoran said as he led the way.
Sakura shrugged a little not knowing that he had seen that. He grinned a little and continued walking. Silenced wrapped them both as they noticed that it was getting darker and darker.
Shaoran suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Sakura quickly asked.
"Shhh. Something is not right." Shaoran said as he transformed his globe key into a sword. He grabbed Sakura's hand and drew her closer to him. He watched their surroundings with great vigilance.
Suddenly, arrows of fire started to rain upon them. Shaoran blocked them with his sword as he kept an eye on Sakura, making sure that not a single arrow touched her.
Something suddenly caught Sakura's eye. As she searched for the object that glittered, she saw that there was something hidden in the bushes.
"Shaoran, I hate to bother you at this moment but..." Sakura's voice came.
"What is it, Sakura?" He said.
"Do you suppose..."
"What?" He said, quite impatiently.
"Never mind." Sakura answered as she quickly dashed off to where the shining object was.
"Sakura! Sakura, get back here! What do you think you are doing?" Shaoran called after her as he continued to block the arrows and followed her.
Sakura ran and was scrapped by an arrow in her waist. She was about to be hit by another but that was when Shaoran caught up to her.
"What do you think you are doing?" He asked quickly.
Sakura didn't answer him as she searched the bushes to where the light came from. Shaoran looked over his shoulder and tried to see what she was doing but there were more arrows now so he had no choice but to look away.
Sakura then stood, holding the book firmly in her hands. She then stood beside him and chanted the inscription that was at the book cover. Suddenly, the arrows stopped coming and everything around them started to disintegrate.
They stood there as everything quickly changed.
Sakura held the book tightly around her arms and in a split second, they found themselves inside the cave they were in earlier.
"We should get out of this cave and this time, no heroic stunts do you hear me?" Shaoran said as he took Sakura's hand and started walking. He gentley tugged her arm to motion her to start moving.
They walked in silence for a while. They were walking in a slow pace because it was very dark and last time they were there, Sakura almost got herself hurt really bad.
"Shaoran." Sakura suddenly said.
"Yes." Shaoran replied, not looking back or stopping as he continued to feel the wall towards the exit.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving my life last time, when I fell and when it was raining arrows."
"Just doing my job, Sakura. So, next time, drop the heroic acts and listen to me alright?"
"Nope, I can't promise that." Sakura replied as she smiled a little.
"Sakura."
"Hey, I'm not a kid you know. I know what I'm doing and I can't let you take all the chances. It maybe your job to protect me but I can also protect myself."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Sakura. But once we get out of this cave, I'm going to treat that wound of yours."
"Oh, you don't have to. It's nothing." Sakura replied. She had totally forgot that she had a wound, as she was too busy looking for that shining book.
"Don't act all tough. I saw you flinch when I pulled your arm a while ago so don't tell me that it's alright."
"Ok, ok. Do you always have to act like that? I'm just some girl you know, I'm not your sister or anything."
"I promised Tsukihiro that no harm would fall upon you, knight's honor. If he finds out that you have that wound, he will have my head."
"Oh, so you're afraid of Yukito? I didn't suspect that Li Shaoran was afraid of Tsukihiro Yukito." Sakura teased.
"Hey! Look, I'm only doing my job. I knew your brother and he taught me a lot of things. I was in the room when you told my mother that you were a Kinomoto, remember? I thought that it was only a coincidence that you had the same family name. You confirmed it when we talked that night and when Tsukihiro came. I knew that they were best friends and that he was like a big brother to you. And I assume that he might have promised Kinomoto that he would protect you for him."
Sakura was speechless.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. They were relieved when they were able to see the night sky again.
Shaoran set Sakura on his horse as they looked for a suitable place to spend the night. When they reached a place where Shaoran believed was ok to spend the night in, he help Sakura dismount the horse and started a fire. He then went over to Sakura and treated her wound.
As he was treating the wound, Sakura said, "Shaoran, I'm sorry if I made it a little difficult for you."
Shaoran looked up at her and smiled. He then said, "Don't worry about it. You are a Kinomoto and I think it really runs in your blood."
"Hey, what do you mean by that? Owe."
"Sorry…there…all better. Anyway, Kinomoto was like a big brother to me just like Tsukihiro. They taught me the ropes and how different it was when you are already practicing the things you learn in knight training. Even though we almost never got along, we respected each other greatly. It was a good thing that Tsukihiro was patient with both of us or we could have killed each other sometimes."
"So, you and my brother never got along?"
"Yes but when it comes to business, we always shed our differences for the cause. And eventually after things got better again, we would renew our quarrels."
"I know what you mean. I once had this phobia on ghosts. He was a medium so he was able to see things that my vision could never see. I remember him telling me that those spirits were after me and that they want me to take away. Years later, I learned that he only told those things to scare me and would always laugh at me. Even though he always bullied me around, I know he really cared about me even though he would not admit it verbally. It always surfaces especially when he notices that there are these guys who are eyeing me or talk to me without any respect. He was more protective than our father." Sakura related.
"So, how did you get over your phobia?"
"With his help and our grandfather's."
"I see. Well, you better rest, Sakura. We will start early tomorrow if we are to reach Omida before night fall tomorrow." Shaoran said.
Sakura just nodded and lay to sleep.
'Kinomoto, I promise I'll protect your sister. I know Tsukihiro might have already promised to take that role but I swear that I will help protect her especially from Meiling.' Shaoran prayed. He then signed. 'Yeah.especially from Meiling.' He repeated as he drifted of into dreamland.
The next day, Sakura woke before dawn. She thought that she had slept through the day so she quickly turned around. When she realized that she didn't need to worry, she smiled and watched as the last firewood burned before her. She saw Shaoran still sleeping and she decided not to wake him up. She then took out a pear and ate it.
Before long, Shaoran woke up.
"Good morning." Sakura said cheerfully as she tossed a pear over to him.
He caught it and returned the greeting.
"How do you feel?" He asked as he took a finally bite of the pear and stood.
"Fine, thanks." She replied with a smile as she too stood.
"Are you sure? We will be traveling all day and it's not good if you push yourself too much."
"It's just a scratch. Don't worry about it." She urged.
"Fine. But you'll be traveling in my horse." Shaoran said, taking her stuff from her.
"Maybe later. I feel like walking and not riding." She replied as she took her stuff from him again and tossed it over the horse.
He just tossed his stuff over the horse too and said nothing more.
"Why do you always have to be this hard headed?" Shaoran commented.
"I resent that. I would call it...freedom. Like I told you last night, I'm not a kid and I certainly can take care of myself, thank you very much." She answered.
"Compared to the two of us, you are still a kid. You have no experience about the outside world. I would have called you naïve but that doesn't suit you does it? Maybe a little too innocent is the word?"
"It doesn't mean that I don't have first hand experience that I'm clueless you know. I was well taught by my family, especially my brother and my father. And you…why do you always judge me when you really don't know me at all?"
"Ok, ok. I promise I will stop making remarks about your personality for now but you've got to promise too that you will do everything I say until we get to the palace, deal?"
"Ok, deal. I will try to not give you a hard time." Sakura said.
"Good."
Half a day passed.
Sakura and Shaoran were traveling non-stop until they came upon a river.
"We should stop here and take a rest for a while." Shaoran said as he led the horse the river to take a drink.
Sakura just sat on a rock and watched the fishes pass by.
Shaoran took a glimpse of Sakura and said, "I never thought that you could last that long without stopping to take a rest or talking."
Sakura turned to him and smiled, "There are a lot of things you don't know about me. I believe I've told you that I was also trained. I suppose you are one of those people who will not believe unless you see it personally."
"Yeah, well let's just say I don't trust people too quickly."
"So, you really don't trust me do you?" Sakura said, turning away to look at the fishes again.
"It's not that. You are a Kinomoto and I pictured you a little differently. You are totally different from the things your brother used to say."
Sakura quickly looked at him in amazement. She never thought that her brother would talk about her.
"That's not my brother."
"Yeah well, it's rare that he talks about you. I just heard him once talk about you. But that was when Tsukihiro asked how you were doing."
"Yukito asked how I was?" Sakura replied, blushing slightly.
"If I were you, I won't flatter myself that much. He only asked because his sister asked him to."
"Tomoyo. Oh, how I miss her. It's been at least two months since we last saw each other. I wonder how she's doing?" Sakura said.
"You don't have to wonder because she knows what has happened to you and your family. And you'll be seeing her when we get to the palace. She also lives there with Tsukihiro." Shaoran said as he tied the horse to a tree and sat on one of the rocks.
"Really? Great! It would be wonderful to see and talk to her again." Sakura said.
She smiled and said nothing more.
They were silent for a while and then Shaoran asked Sakura about the book she got last night.
Sakura was taken a back for she forgot that she got that book. She then ran to her bag and opened it. She took out the book and sat next to Shaoran.
"I suppose this is the Clow book. I hadn't got the chance to open it last night. Remember, I just read the inscription…hey! Where is the inscription?" Sakura said.
"what inscription are you talking about?" Shaoran said as he leaned over to get a better view of the book cover.
"I swear. There was an inscription written here last night. The one I read and then the arrows stopped coming and we found ourselves inside that cave again."
"Well, whatever it is, it's gone now. I suppose it also had the effect the letter from your mother had."
"You're right. I guess we should open it now."
Just then, the lock fell off. As Sakura was about to pick up the lock, a bright light came from the book, blinding the two of them.
As something started to emerge from the book, Shaoran quickly grabbed Sakura's hand and stepped away. Shaoran quickly transformed his key to a sword and shielded Sakura.
Before long, a small creature took form and the light was gone.
"Huh? It feels good to finally get out of that book after a long time. Oro?" The creature said in a small voice.
"Stay where you are!" Shaoran commanded.
"What are you?" Sakura asked.
"Mistress. I am Keroberos, the sun guardian of the Clow book." The small yellow bear-lion like creature with wings said.
"Mistress? What do you mean?" Sakura nervously asked.
"You have the key to control the cards and you are the chosen one to use the Clow cards that are contained in this book." Keroberos said.
"Oh." Sakura said as she stepped forward and held Shaoran's arm. As he felt her hand, he also felt the power that came from the creature and the book. He knew that it bid them no harm so he transformed his sword back into a key and kept it.
"You're so kawaii. Can I call you Kero?" Sakura said as she approached the guardian.
"I like that, mistress." Kero replied.
"Oh, my name is Sakura. Please, I would rather you call me that rather than mistress, ok?"
"Ok." Kero said as he flew to Sakura's shoulder.
"How can you call that creature kawaii when it looks so weird?" Shaoran said as he sat across Sakura.
"Hey! Look who's talking, Gaki!" Kero said angrily.
"Well it's true you know. I can never find a creature who's half bear, half lion and has wings kawaii." Shaoran said as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Why you." Kero said as he readied to fly to Shaoran.
"Kero." Sakura said gently.
The creature turned to his master.
She smiled at him and said, "Leave him alone, Kero. He is really like that."
Shaoran heard what she said and chose to remain silent.
Kero signed a sign of defeat as he obeyed his master's request. He then turned to Shaoran and said, "You haven't lost, Gaki. I will get you."
"Kero!" Sakura said.
Kero just turned to Sakura and smiled.
Shaoran then stood and said, "We better start moving again."
He then went over to his horse and untied it.
Sakura then stood and followed him. She didn't understand but she felt this happiness inside of her. She then ran to Shaoran side and opened her bag. She then placed Keroberos inside.
The creature seemed confused and she knew that so she said, "It would be better for us if no one saw you. You better stay inside my bag and here." She then placed the Clow book inside too. "…no one is to see that too or we'll all be in trouble."
"You better be quiet too." Shaoran said, not looking at them.
"Hey, who are you to tell me to keep quiet?" Kero shouted back at him.
"He's right you know, Kero. You should be quiet until we say it's ok, got that?" Sakura said.
Shaoran grinned secretly as Kero obeyed his master's orders.
Sakura then started walking next to him.
Shaoran glanced a little to her and said, "Now that you have the Clow book, you need to learn how to use the Clow cards."
Sakura turned to him and said, "I know. I suppose Kero will help me do that right?"
"Yes. But if you like, I can help you too but not that much."
"So, you know about the Clow cards?"
"Yes.all 52 of them."
"52? Are you serious?" Sakura gapped is astonishment.
"Yes. There are 52 Clow cards all in all. I guess you weren't kidding when you told me that your family never taught you anything about the Clow book or the Clow cards."
(to be continued...)
note: There! I've finally finished chapter 3! (yey!) I hope you like it. There is more to come I promise and it's going to be a long story. Please review it so that I will get inspirations again for me to start the next chapter. Right now my mind is blank. The words are on the tip of my tongue.I just can't quite let it out. Anyway, thanks again for reading my story.
Michiko