Identity's Past
by AlterEthereal
Syaoran returned to find his princess, but discovered she has been missing in action for years. Now, a mysterious, distant girl has arrived in the city... could his princess be right under his nose?
Happy Easter!!! Again!!! lol. Well, a couple of you guys were wondering about who exactly the weird robed guy was. It wasn't really explained in the dream (yes, guys, remember, I'm still working off a dream, here), so I used my awesome artistic powers to make something up. Hope it satisfies. Enjoy! ^_^
Bob: TNF! TNF! TNF!!
Alter-chan: geez, doesn't he ever give up?
Zuri: oh c'mon, have some spirit, Kaya!
Alter-chan: no! *crosses arms and pouts lips*
Anaru: um, who's that crazy guy screaming the alphabet over there?
Bob: ABC! DEF! GHI!!
Alter-chan: *drags Zuri away from Bob* uh... we don't know him. he was just doing disclaimer for us.
Bob: DIS! CLA! IME! uh... R!! Alter-chan! Doesn't own! CCS!!
everyone but Bob: *scoots further away* O_o
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Chapter 15: Sorina
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Just as Sakura had said, it was about a day's walk to the village. She and Syaoran chatted a bit throughout the journey, mostly about things that had happened in each other's absence. Sakura explained all that she knew about the robed man, as well.
Apparently, he was Clow Reed's former rival, Wu Tai. They had never been on good terms, and once, when the man made a brash attempt to steal the Clow Cards, the mighty sorcerer had managed to seal him in the caves. Somehow, he had escaped.
This was all that the two teenagers were able to piece together, with Sakura's stories and Syaoran's knowledge of Clow Reed's life. It was enough, though, to know that Wu Tai must be stopped.
As the two travelers neared the village that Sakura had come close to calling home, they began to notice signs of life. The lights Sakura had helped hang still lit the corridors a little ways from the village, and a few crude tools lay about the ground once in a while. They heard voices; although Syaoran heard them, Sakura was the only one who could understand them, even as they were within less than half a mile of the town.
The voices she heard seemed somewhat hasty, almost disconnected in a way. She tried to listen more carefully, but it wasn't until they were within about a quarter of a mile that she could make out a few scattered phrases. She definitely did not like what she thought she was hearing.
Her steps almost unconsciously quickened, and she was so intent on listening to the frantic voices of the villagers that she didn't even notice Syaoran's eyes prying at her from her side until he spoke.
~*~
Sakura's pace began to speed up, for some reason Syaoran couldn't think of.
"What's the rush?"
"I can hear them... the voices. Hurry, I think someone's in trouble down there."
And with that, their brisk walk turned to a jog. Sakura lead them down winding corridors, some filled with light and some pitch black, obviously taking backroutes. They eventually made a turn into a dark, alley-like corridor, where a light shone through a rather small opening in a rock-face wall--it was a dead end. The emerald-eyed girl broke into a full run.
When she reached the wall, she patted it several times, seeming to look for a weak spot where she could knock it down. However, it seemed to be tightly sealed. She pounded her fist* against the rock.
"Damnit! They must've melted it shut!"
Syaoran just stood and stared from a short distance, not sure whether he should ask her what was going on or wait for Sakura to take it into her own hands, as she probably would sooner or later.
"Well, we're not going all the way back around, so..." A pale hand graced the girl's waist and removed one of the small, pink cards that had been nestled there.
Well that answered that question.
She shouted something at the wall in a succession of strange, complex sounds Syaoran could only guess was the language she learned here, then a word he knew all too well.
"Power!"
And with a few flicks of her wrists, a swing or two of the Star Wand, the creature was released from its imprisonment. The light was close to blinding compared to the darkness of the tunnel, but the figure of the Power was still breath-takingly clear. The beautiful and bright maiden waited for her mistress's instructions.
"Break down the wall!"
Within an instant, the Power had smashed through the solid rock, revealing a good helping of the light that had once shone through the crack in the rock. Dust clouded the newfound doorway as the creature returned to its confinement, leaving Sakura and Syaoran to make their way through.
Once Syaoran was out of the dust cloud, he was free to look at his surroundings. The village was crude, indeed: small cottages made of twigs, cloth, and stone, no source of natural light, a large lake near the back of the cave, a few patches of dirt here and there. Although it was primitive, he could see random traces of modern technology--a telephone here, a sewing machine there--obviously Sakura's doing. There was no sunlight, but a few halogen light bulbs hung on the roof of the cave to replace it. No wonder they were disappointed when she left. Speaking of "they," a large crowd of people seemed to be congregating before the visitors.
It was then that Syaoran realized Sakura had begun speaking in that strange tongue again. He vaguely heard her name among the other "words," and assumed she was identifying herself. Once she was finished, the people seemed pacified, and one little girl from the crowd, perhaps 3 or 4 years old, hesitantly began to walk toward them. She wore dirty clothes and had messy, blonde hair, but a clean face and gentle, gray-blue eyes. Her puckered lips were presently sucking on a couple of the fingers on her hand, and the eyes of the caustic warrior softened, gazing upon the girl's innocent expression. He had to admit, she was cute.
The girl suddenly let her hand fall from her mouth and rushed over to Sakura, who enveloped her in a giggling hug. The boy watched as she murmured something soft to the child then picked her up and rested the little one on her hip.
Syaoran began to feel the everyone's eyes turn his way, including Sakura's. She gestured toward him and spoke to the people, throwing his name in there somewhere. He realized he was being introduced, and bowed slightly. Sakura then turned completely toward him, ignoring the rest of the villagers, who were beginning to scatter, going back to their previous business.
"And Li Syaoran, this is little Sorina. She was born a few months after I arrived here. I was told her name means 'sun' in these people's ancient language."
Sorina again had her hand in her mouth and was looking up at Syaoran through her thick eyelashes shyly.
"She's really very... cute."
"Isn't she though? Her brother is a friend of mine, the one who found me in the caves when I first arrived."**
"Really..." Syaoran asked distractedly. It wasn't that the topic didn't interest him, but the little girl's name seemed a bit familiar--like he had heard it once or twice somewhere before. In a class back home, perhaps. It wasn't horribly important, but the thought crossed his mind that if he could remember where the name came from, it may be able to uncover the origin of the village. After all, Sakura did say it was their "ancient language," did she not? Suddenly, his thoughts were cut off.
"Sorina!"
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*lol her left fist... the right one is still bruised up. ^_^
**foster-brother, really.
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Alter-chan: w00t! who could that be? lol. don't you guys just hate me for cutting it there?
reviewers: *glare at Alter-chan*
Alter-chan: ^_^; heh heh... um...
~AlterEthereal