Updating already! Yay! I'm so glad people liked the last chapter! Thanks
again to everyone who reviewed and doubly thanks to anyone who likes my
story enough to put it in their favourites!
Two comments before I let you get to the story, that is if you haven't skipped past this already. First, someone IRL made a comment that some of my spelling was a bit off, mostly things like colour instead of color. It's just a habit I got into doing way back when and never got around to breaking since it looks cooler in my mind. But it IS a correct way of spelling so .. Anyway more importantly someone, Kate by name, commented on liking the other formatting better. I apologize to all those who feel the same but I did so for two reasons. A) I find it more comfortable to read a story myself when there isn't a necessity for jumping larger spaces which end up making paragraphs look weird, and B) I'm lazy. It's easier to do it this way.
Enough blathering.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. And my head hurts too much to make that comical in anyway. Meh.
Chapter Eleven: Truth Tellings
Yelan was sitting alone in the morning room adjacent to her own bedroom. The door was open since the early morning hours rarely brought disturbances to her door, which at this hour included light. Yet, this morning she was disturbed by the sounds of someone walking past her door, seemingly heading to bed when he should be heading from it.
"Xiao Lang, come in here," her quiet voice spoke commandingly.
The figure stopped as it was about to disappear from the opening and stiffened. "Yes, mother?" he spoke as he stepped into the room. His amber eyes looked tired and clouded with unspoken emotions. "You need something?"
"Xiao Lang, the sun hasn't risen and yet, not only are you already awake but have obviously been so for sometime. What would have kept you up so long?
"I was not tired, mother. Is there some point to this?" he asked tiredly. He was actually exhausted but hours worth of thoughts had kept him from rest.
Yelan smiled to herself and stood, walking towards the window that looked out onto her own balcony. "I myself had a hard time sleeping. Something about the feel of not yet trained power of such great magnitude I think." She glanced over her shoulder at her son who was still standing stiffly in the same spot he had been since he entered. "She is a lovely girl isn't she?"
Xiao Lang tried to cover his blush from his mother as she turned to look back through the window. "You know, son and heir, there is a telescope on my balcony. It can see very far into the sky, as well as a little more close to home." She turned from the window and returned to her chair, studiously not ignoring her son's flushed face. "Xiao Lang, I have given you no doubt to my thoughts on this matter. However, you might wish to ascertain her own before you rush into this headlong."
"I don't understand what you mean, mother," he said with carefully suppressed emotion.
"You do, so do not lie to me, Xiao Lang."
"Why, because lies are not becoming in a future leader?" he asked bitterly.
"No. Lies are actually a necessity to a future leader. Lies and concealment are always necessary when leading any group of people. Some people need to know less than others."
He sighed. He knew this. However why his mother was teasing him over a subject she must intuitively know bothered him. "Mother, please. I am an adult now and have already reached the point that after training I will be taking your place. I know my own mind and what is best for my people. I have known since I was still a child."
She nodded, taking a sip from the tea which was rapidly growing colder. "You know a great deal, Xiao Lang. You know more at your young age than most know at mine. But while you may know your mind and you may be wise, but you do not know your heart. All I advise is that you get to know your heart before you start making out with the princess of the realm in our backyard when she barely knows that you are the next leader of our people and has no inkling about the dangers she is about to face."
Xiao Lang was startled but merely nodded. His mother stared at him a moment before waving her hand and indicating that he could leave her presence. He bowed and hurried from the room, trying to unravel yet another puzzle that had entered his life. He had no sure notion of what would happen to the innocent girl with green eyes, nor why he wished, so desperately to make sure she had none either.
Breakfast came without the presence of the amber eyed future leader of the Li clan. The Princess of Tomoeda was not sure if she regretted his absence or not. She was still reeling from the passionate kiss from before and wasn't sure her emotions had been settled enough by breakfast. However, when he failed to show up for training as well she got angry and eventually sought him out. Kiss or no kiss he had a promise to keep.
After searching through most of the complex and asking all of his sisters and even Meiling Sakura found him locked in his private rooms. First she knocked politely and then she started to call his name.
"Li? Can I come in?" No answer. "Li? Come on, let me in." Still no answer. "Li!" She banged on the door a little louder when she heard shuffling but no signs of him answering. Finally she got fed up. "Li Xiao Lang, open this door right now!"
Li sat inside, a little amused at her temerity to address him not only by his full name but by his natural name rather than the one he had introduced himself with. However, he didn't feel the least inclined to open the door, for the time being at least. He would speak to her, but later. Or so he thought.
That is until Sakura found a handy new use for her magical Key pendant and unlocked his door. She threw it open with a bang and stared at him head on, her breathing heavy and her eyes flaring like green fire. Li was struck still as he watched the beautiful girl stride towards him with almost tangible levels of anger flowing around her.
And for a moment, Li was actually afraid. Until he snapped out of it and realized just who he was and who she was. "Princess what right do you have to come into my room like this?"
"You OWE me, Li. You owe me answers as well as the rest of your family. You told me last night you would give them to me and you will. You will give me answers to-day or I will leave this place and find someone who will answer me. Maybe I can track down Eriol. He seemed to like me well enough to tell me a few things. So either give me some answers to what is going on or tell me goodbye."
Li watched in amazement as the seemingly shy creature began to poke his chest repeatedly. He was amazed at her anger, still fresh from the night before. But when she said that she would be leaving and that perhaps it would be Eriol that she ran to, he nearly lost it. He grabbed her hand in a fierce grip, startling her into silence. For a long moment the two merely looked at each other and Sakura could have sworn that he was going to kiss her again. But suddenly he stepped away.
"Fine, if you want answers you will get answers. Follow me." He stepped around her, ignoring the panic that had gone through him moments before and the startled look on her face.
She nodded silently, though she knew he couldn't see her, and followed him through the long corridors until they stopped outside a room she hadn't seen before. The tall oak doors seemed older than the rest of the house and a strong aura saturated the whole area round the two teenagers. He knocked twice before entering without waiting for any sign of response.
Before Sakura could ask where they were she looked across the long hall the doors had opened into and saw five chairs raised on a high dais with the Li clan symbol, a Yin-yang with three tear drops beneath, hanging from a long banner on the wall behind. Li walked down the long hall until he was a couple feet from the dais and waited. At this point, the brunette girl was afraid to speak and was increasingly regretting the words she had thrown at the boy earlier. She wasn't acting like herself; she never got angry. As she waited in the silent room beside the boy who had so thoroughly kissed her only hours before and seemed to have forgotten it, she tried to sort through her own mind.
The past months were weighing on her heavily and she missed her mother and father, she longed to have her brother call her names. She wanted to wake up and be at home in her room with Tomoyo only having been home for a day or so, with Li still acting like she was a bratty little girl. She wanted to go to the ball she had spent so many hours planning with little desire to go to. She wanted to be home more than anything else in the world, to have had none of this happen. But that wasn't possible, this was reality and she had to bear with it. All she needed now was answers.
After ten minutes had passed in silence, a door that had gone previously unnoticed opened and the five Elders, dressed formally, entered and took their seats. Moments later, the door behind them reopened and Yelan stepped inside and with her long elegant strides passed the two to stand before them in front of the dais. She smiled serenely at the girl in front of her and her son before turning to the Elders.
"Princess Sakura Kinomoto, Card Mistress and most likely heir to the Tomoeda throne wishes to know a secret our family has guarded for years. Every title she holds entitles her to the answer to her question and shames us for not telling her sooner what she already expressed a wish to know." Yelan turned to Sakura and knelt before her. "Forgive us. I had not realized your passion for knowledge, which is a great oversight into stupidity on my part. Ask and we will answer."
"Ahem," Long coughed, gaining everyone's attention as he stood and walked to the edge of the dais. Yelan turned to him and rose from her position. It flashed through Sakura's mind that though Yelan was the ruler of these people, the Elders seemed to have more power.
"Kinomoto, we will answer your questions but then you will answer some of ours." Yelan glanced at him sharply and the elder man actually seemed to balk a little under the lady's fierce glare. "Perhaps, I should clarify something," Long said sharply as he began to pace the length of the dais. "You are undoubtedly wondering about the situation before you, about the Elders, Yelan and Xiao Lang. Perhaps let me answer this question before you even ask."
Sakura noticed that Li shifted uncomfortably and she assumed that it was because he had never actually addressed the issue to her and had actually kept the knowledge from her as best as possible. However, she kept her attention on Elder Long and was grateful for any answers that people were willing to give.
"We, the Elders, are actually positioned somewhere along the hierarchy of the rule of the Chinese people somewhere around where your fathers top advisors are. Except, of course, that we hold one additional role and status. We are the final word in training and judgment in what happens to the children of the Li clan."
"Pardon, but what do you mean?" Sakura asked confusedly.
"What he means, princess, is that these five get to decide how often we train, when we are finished, what subjects we learn and even who we marry."
"M-m-marry?" she stuttered, glancing back and forth between Li and the Elders.
"Xiao Lang is a bit bitter, but is however correct. We are both obedient and ruling. In fact we only answer to two people in all of Tomoeda, and by relation two more."
"Who would that be?" she asked, unable to help herself.
"The first two would be your father and Yelan," Long said causing Sakura to nod reasonably. "The second two would be Xiao Lang, the next ruler of the Li clan, and you, Kinomoto, the next Queen of Tomoeda."
Sakura gapped and even Li seemed a bit shocked. "Excuse me?" she stuttered. "That is hardly my position. I mean I'm not even the eldest!"
Long rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to argue with the girl. "Whatever, Kinomoto. It is my job to answer your questions, not to foretell the future. Now ask."
She shook her head and tried to not feel uneasy as they passed chance off as fact. "Fine. Who is following me? Who am I running from? Or wait, actually first, why me?"
"Why did you inherit the Cards?" Xing Zhi implied with humour in his voice.
"Yes."
"That is not something you should be asking us, princess, but perhaps Clow himself," Quen Yuan chuckled. "Why don't you stick to the more immediately answerable questions? Like the first two."
Sakura sighed. Somehow she felt like one large joke to the people around her but she just nodded.
Long returned to his chair and took a deep long breath before he started speaking.
"It is no doubt that your father told you the history of our people." When Sakura nodded he continued. "You must remember that our land was restored to us from a dishonourable excuse for a king who saw fit to wreak havoc and chaos on the people who looked to him for guidance. He was a strong and Powerful man, so Powerful that the entire Li family at the time could not beat him and his massive armies. It wasn't until Clow Reed was born that our lands were finally restored to us by your great-great-etc. Grandfather.
"What you don't know, is that the man had a daughter who passed from sight when the war began. In fact she passed from all knowledge for many years until she resurfaced, cold and alone, to apologize for the evils of her father. She was not the problem. She was most likely innocent. However, she bore a son from her husband who had been killed in the war. She taught her son the history of her family in hopes that he would learn from her father's mistakes. But he was proud and had a strong desire to be king. He was obedient to his mother until the day she died.
"From then on he began to preach to his sons and daughter's about the history that his mother had given him. But he told it with malice and longing. He knew he was no match for the great Clow Reed or the returning Li family. But he knew that one of his children would be. That they could create Power with in themselves."
At this point, Long took a breath and a sip of water. Sakura was amazed that he could talk for so long at his age without break. But she was only left to think for a moment before he continued his voice as strong as ever.
"And so the malice was passed from father to son in a direct line until the present day. They spent the years researching Clow as well and passing that knowledge as well. They learned of the Cards and knew that if they were ever inherited by either the rulers of the Chinese people or of Tomoeda as a whole then their chances will have been wasted. For no one beats the Power of the one who tames the Cards. But they eventually learned that the Cards were protected until the chosen person came to inherit them. They could not be stolen away and used. That is, while the current possessor was alive. If they killed the one who held the Cards then the Cards could be taken and they would have the Power beyond anyone."
Sakura just soaked this in for a moment before actually understanding. "So they want my Cards? They have some personal vendetta, a stupid one, and they want to kill me to achieve it? So they can have the Cards." She stopped speaking for a moment. "If they were such Powerful geniuses why didn't they just take the Cards to begin with? It's not like they were that well hidden. Even I recognize the fact that I felt their presence. It's just stupid."
Elder Long's lips twitched a little, showing that perhaps he agreed. But then he also knew more than he was telling which Sakura immediately assumed since it was just too stupid to be borne.
"That's not everything. Tell me the rest," she demanded with a voice that reeked with authority.
"She's a smart one," Sheng commented.
"I knew she was, I told you," Quen Yuan chuckled.
Sakura glared at the respective elders, effectively silencing them if not removing the almost proud grin from their face.
"Elder Long has told you the most basic history, Princess Sakura. There is more to tell," Yelan said with a calming tone.
"Then tell already."
She nodded and for a moment paused as if thinking where to begin. "You didn't ask why we had never stopped something like this from occurring even though we were allowed back on to our lands and controlled much of what the previous king had. The answer would be because we didn't know. In fact our ancestors were so ignorant of the hate that some even married into their family and strengthened their blood. Not many, since it was too dangerous to bring in too many outsiders. But one of them was a Li and a Powerful one. She passed her Power onto her children and also a little wisdom.
"The original plan had been one of revenge and malice. However, the more that was learned of the Cards the more the idea of stealing them from the new Master, or Mistress as it happened, began to sound ridiculous. They wouldn't be able to control the Cards since they were so Powerful. Only the one destined to inherit them would be able to. And so while they knew exactly where the Cards were they stayed away. They formulated a new plan."
Sakura interrupted, curious though she was about the new plan, something had been skipped over. "Lady Yelan, if you didn't know, how do you now and why haven't you stopped them?"
Yelan grimaced a little. "We have only known the truth for about a year. You see there is only one descendant left that is directly from the old king. However, he has many cousins, most of which have changed sides and have adapted into the Chinese lands and culture or that of Tomoeda itself. So there were less and less people who knew since only the most trusted were told of this plot. But a year ago one of the trusted ones saw the stupidity in it and came to us with her knowledge."
She paused for a moment, obviously regretful. "She was killed by the man who hunts you now. And as for why we didn't do anything before, well listen to the rest of my story and I will tell you."
Sakura nodded, brows furrowed at the idea of someone killing their own cousin who had obviously been trusted before.
"As I was saying this new plan was well formulated and also more realistic, especially with the sudden flourish of Power that receiving Li blood gave. Instead of killing the new Card Mistress why not just take her to their side? It had been prophesized that the Cards would reach their possessor when they were still young and, thus still malleable. Also, at first there would be a period of time in which the Cards must be mastered. So it was simple. Let the Cards go to their rightful owner and let the owner be taken over themselves. They are most likely out to get your trust right now but, Princess, they will not hesitate to kill you if you show signs of disobeying them.
"And as to why we didn't stop him, well, that is because his Power rivals Xiao Lang's and has mastered it well. Someone of such great Power cannot be challenged so easily, even with a year's worth of work. And also for that year he has been moving, rarely at home. He has obviously been watching for the day you would inherit. He obviously knew it was you too since he was underway so quickly."
Sakura nodded. "But why didn't you tell me any of this earlier? This isn't any knowledge that is so horrendous that takes such great secrecy. Especially when we have been isolated so much."
"Simply there are two reasons. One is so that you would not be frightened to the point that you would not concentrate on mastering your Cards." Sakura rolled her eyes at that. The idea of a nameless attacker seemed more frightening to her but then she had never been sure before that she was running for her life or at the very least her will. "The second may sound harsh but it is a fact of necessity. If you had been told everything but then later had been taken under their grasp and made to speak then they would know what we know and there would not be the chance of us overpowering him after that."
She sighed. IT was a bit harsh to think that she couldn't keep her lips buttoned but she understood. In fact she now understood a lot more than she had thought she would have to and yet at the same time had a hundred new questions that could not be answered by anyone outside of herself. Finally she curtsied to everyone present and excused herself to leave.
"I have things I need to sort out." She didn't wait for anyone to respond but quickly and gracefully walked from the room without looking back.
Li watched the princess go with a heavy heart before turning back to the Elders. "Two things: first, is she really to be the next Queen of Tomoeda?"
Yelan nodded. "I foresaw it. Her brother has chosen to love unsuitably for someone in a leader's situation. He will pass the throne to her with ease and without regret. Sooner than she realizes," the serene lady said with a touch of pain to her voice.
Li didn't pause to take this in but instead bowed to everyone present. "And second, thank you for not telling her what that man is capable of."
"Why? Do you think she would be frightened to the point of not being able to work to her fullest?" Xing Zhi inquired.
Li shook his head. "No. She is not the kind of person to run away from anything, no matter how scared she is. But she is already having prophetic dreams where she sees blood and death. She thinks they are nightmares but if she were to learn about the atrocities he has committed she would not sleep all together."
He bowed again and turned to follow after the princess, to perhaps explain his actions, or perhaps just to watch her from afar as he had found himself doing so often. When he had left completely, Elder Long spoke up.
"He's already in love with her isn't he?"
"Yes, he is," Yelan said with a smile.
"Is she the one you foresaw? The girl is already legendary but will she also be the one to make him into the leader he should be?" Xing Zhi begged to know.
Yelan stared at the spot where the two had disappeared. "A mother could only hope. Even if she were they would have to conquer the fact that she will be Queen and he will be the new leader."
"Oh, I doubt they would need to," Chen Rong said, speaking for the first time before he got up and left the others wondering about what he meant.
(A/N: I have no clue what happens next in all seriousness. Usually I prewrite a little in my head but this time I have nothing jotted down on the mental notebook. However, I think it's easier to write with the Li family than when they were traveling so either way it shouldn't be too long before the next update. Sides, two updates in two days aint so bad. Specially juicy plot reveling updates. Anyway, Ja!)
Two comments before I let you get to the story, that is if you haven't skipped past this already. First, someone IRL made a comment that some of my spelling was a bit off, mostly things like colour instead of color. It's just a habit I got into doing way back when and never got around to breaking since it looks cooler in my mind. But it IS a correct way of spelling so .. Anyway more importantly someone, Kate by name, commented on liking the other formatting better. I apologize to all those who feel the same but I did so for two reasons. A) I find it more comfortable to read a story myself when there isn't a necessity for jumping larger spaces which end up making paragraphs look weird, and B) I'm lazy. It's easier to do it this way.
Enough blathering.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. And my head hurts too much to make that comical in anyway. Meh.
Chapter Eleven: Truth Tellings
Yelan was sitting alone in the morning room adjacent to her own bedroom. The door was open since the early morning hours rarely brought disturbances to her door, which at this hour included light. Yet, this morning she was disturbed by the sounds of someone walking past her door, seemingly heading to bed when he should be heading from it.
"Xiao Lang, come in here," her quiet voice spoke commandingly.
The figure stopped as it was about to disappear from the opening and stiffened. "Yes, mother?" he spoke as he stepped into the room. His amber eyes looked tired and clouded with unspoken emotions. "You need something?"
"Xiao Lang, the sun hasn't risen and yet, not only are you already awake but have obviously been so for sometime. What would have kept you up so long?
"I was not tired, mother. Is there some point to this?" he asked tiredly. He was actually exhausted but hours worth of thoughts had kept him from rest.
Yelan smiled to herself and stood, walking towards the window that looked out onto her own balcony. "I myself had a hard time sleeping. Something about the feel of not yet trained power of such great magnitude I think." She glanced over her shoulder at her son who was still standing stiffly in the same spot he had been since he entered. "She is a lovely girl isn't she?"
Xiao Lang tried to cover his blush from his mother as she turned to look back through the window. "You know, son and heir, there is a telescope on my balcony. It can see very far into the sky, as well as a little more close to home." She turned from the window and returned to her chair, studiously not ignoring her son's flushed face. "Xiao Lang, I have given you no doubt to my thoughts on this matter. However, you might wish to ascertain her own before you rush into this headlong."
"I don't understand what you mean, mother," he said with carefully suppressed emotion.
"You do, so do not lie to me, Xiao Lang."
"Why, because lies are not becoming in a future leader?" he asked bitterly.
"No. Lies are actually a necessity to a future leader. Lies and concealment are always necessary when leading any group of people. Some people need to know less than others."
He sighed. He knew this. However why his mother was teasing him over a subject she must intuitively know bothered him. "Mother, please. I am an adult now and have already reached the point that after training I will be taking your place. I know my own mind and what is best for my people. I have known since I was still a child."
She nodded, taking a sip from the tea which was rapidly growing colder. "You know a great deal, Xiao Lang. You know more at your young age than most know at mine. But while you may know your mind and you may be wise, but you do not know your heart. All I advise is that you get to know your heart before you start making out with the princess of the realm in our backyard when she barely knows that you are the next leader of our people and has no inkling about the dangers she is about to face."
Xiao Lang was startled but merely nodded. His mother stared at him a moment before waving her hand and indicating that he could leave her presence. He bowed and hurried from the room, trying to unravel yet another puzzle that had entered his life. He had no sure notion of what would happen to the innocent girl with green eyes, nor why he wished, so desperately to make sure she had none either.
Breakfast came without the presence of the amber eyed future leader of the Li clan. The Princess of Tomoeda was not sure if she regretted his absence or not. She was still reeling from the passionate kiss from before and wasn't sure her emotions had been settled enough by breakfast. However, when he failed to show up for training as well she got angry and eventually sought him out. Kiss or no kiss he had a promise to keep.
After searching through most of the complex and asking all of his sisters and even Meiling Sakura found him locked in his private rooms. First she knocked politely and then she started to call his name.
"Li? Can I come in?" No answer. "Li? Come on, let me in." Still no answer. "Li!" She banged on the door a little louder when she heard shuffling but no signs of him answering. Finally she got fed up. "Li Xiao Lang, open this door right now!"
Li sat inside, a little amused at her temerity to address him not only by his full name but by his natural name rather than the one he had introduced himself with. However, he didn't feel the least inclined to open the door, for the time being at least. He would speak to her, but later. Or so he thought.
That is until Sakura found a handy new use for her magical Key pendant and unlocked his door. She threw it open with a bang and stared at him head on, her breathing heavy and her eyes flaring like green fire. Li was struck still as he watched the beautiful girl stride towards him with almost tangible levels of anger flowing around her.
And for a moment, Li was actually afraid. Until he snapped out of it and realized just who he was and who she was. "Princess what right do you have to come into my room like this?"
"You OWE me, Li. You owe me answers as well as the rest of your family. You told me last night you would give them to me and you will. You will give me answers to-day or I will leave this place and find someone who will answer me. Maybe I can track down Eriol. He seemed to like me well enough to tell me a few things. So either give me some answers to what is going on or tell me goodbye."
Li watched in amazement as the seemingly shy creature began to poke his chest repeatedly. He was amazed at her anger, still fresh from the night before. But when she said that she would be leaving and that perhaps it would be Eriol that she ran to, he nearly lost it. He grabbed her hand in a fierce grip, startling her into silence. For a long moment the two merely looked at each other and Sakura could have sworn that he was going to kiss her again. But suddenly he stepped away.
"Fine, if you want answers you will get answers. Follow me." He stepped around her, ignoring the panic that had gone through him moments before and the startled look on her face.
She nodded silently, though she knew he couldn't see her, and followed him through the long corridors until they stopped outside a room she hadn't seen before. The tall oak doors seemed older than the rest of the house and a strong aura saturated the whole area round the two teenagers. He knocked twice before entering without waiting for any sign of response.
Before Sakura could ask where they were she looked across the long hall the doors had opened into and saw five chairs raised on a high dais with the Li clan symbol, a Yin-yang with three tear drops beneath, hanging from a long banner on the wall behind. Li walked down the long hall until he was a couple feet from the dais and waited. At this point, the brunette girl was afraid to speak and was increasingly regretting the words she had thrown at the boy earlier. She wasn't acting like herself; she never got angry. As she waited in the silent room beside the boy who had so thoroughly kissed her only hours before and seemed to have forgotten it, she tried to sort through her own mind.
The past months were weighing on her heavily and she missed her mother and father, she longed to have her brother call her names. She wanted to wake up and be at home in her room with Tomoyo only having been home for a day or so, with Li still acting like she was a bratty little girl. She wanted to go to the ball she had spent so many hours planning with little desire to go to. She wanted to be home more than anything else in the world, to have had none of this happen. But that wasn't possible, this was reality and she had to bear with it. All she needed now was answers.
After ten minutes had passed in silence, a door that had gone previously unnoticed opened and the five Elders, dressed formally, entered and took their seats. Moments later, the door behind them reopened and Yelan stepped inside and with her long elegant strides passed the two to stand before them in front of the dais. She smiled serenely at the girl in front of her and her son before turning to the Elders.
"Princess Sakura Kinomoto, Card Mistress and most likely heir to the Tomoeda throne wishes to know a secret our family has guarded for years. Every title she holds entitles her to the answer to her question and shames us for not telling her sooner what she already expressed a wish to know." Yelan turned to Sakura and knelt before her. "Forgive us. I had not realized your passion for knowledge, which is a great oversight into stupidity on my part. Ask and we will answer."
"Ahem," Long coughed, gaining everyone's attention as he stood and walked to the edge of the dais. Yelan turned to him and rose from her position. It flashed through Sakura's mind that though Yelan was the ruler of these people, the Elders seemed to have more power.
"Kinomoto, we will answer your questions but then you will answer some of ours." Yelan glanced at him sharply and the elder man actually seemed to balk a little under the lady's fierce glare. "Perhaps, I should clarify something," Long said sharply as he began to pace the length of the dais. "You are undoubtedly wondering about the situation before you, about the Elders, Yelan and Xiao Lang. Perhaps let me answer this question before you even ask."
Sakura noticed that Li shifted uncomfortably and she assumed that it was because he had never actually addressed the issue to her and had actually kept the knowledge from her as best as possible. However, she kept her attention on Elder Long and was grateful for any answers that people were willing to give.
"We, the Elders, are actually positioned somewhere along the hierarchy of the rule of the Chinese people somewhere around where your fathers top advisors are. Except, of course, that we hold one additional role and status. We are the final word in training and judgment in what happens to the children of the Li clan."
"Pardon, but what do you mean?" Sakura asked confusedly.
"What he means, princess, is that these five get to decide how often we train, when we are finished, what subjects we learn and even who we marry."
"M-m-marry?" she stuttered, glancing back and forth between Li and the Elders.
"Xiao Lang is a bit bitter, but is however correct. We are both obedient and ruling. In fact we only answer to two people in all of Tomoeda, and by relation two more."
"Who would that be?" she asked, unable to help herself.
"The first two would be your father and Yelan," Long said causing Sakura to nod reasonably. "The second two would be Xiao Lang, the next ruler of the Li clan, and you, Kinomoto, the next Queen of Tomoeda."
Sakura gapped and even Li seemed a bit shocked. "Excuse me?" she stuttered. "That is hardly my position. I mean I'm not even the eldest!"
Long rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to argue with the girl. "Whatever, Kinomoto. It is my job to answer your questions, not to foretell the future. Now ask."
She shook her head and tried to not feel uneasy as they passed chance off as fact. "Fine. Who is following me? Who am I running from? Or wait, actually first, why me?"
"Why did you inherit the Cards?" Xing Zhi implied with humour in his voice.
"Yes."
"That is not something you should be asking us, princess, but perhaps Clow himself," Quen Yuan chuckled. "Why don't you stick to the more immediately answerable questions? Like the first two."
Sakura sighed. Somehow she felt like one large joke to the people around her but she just nodded.
Long returned to his chair and took a deep long breath before he started speaking.
"It is no doubt that your father told you the history of our people." When Sakura nodded he continued. "You must remember that our land was restored to us from a dishonourable excuse for a king who saw fit to wreak havoc and chaos on the people who looked to him for guidance. He was a strong and Powerful man, so Powerful that the entire Li family at the time could not beat him and his massive armies. It wasn't until Clow Reed was born that our lands were finally restored to us by your great-great-etc. Grandfather.
"What you don't know, is that the man had a daughter who passed from sight when the war began. In fact she passed from all knowledge for many years until she resurfaced, cold and alone, to apologize for the evils of her father. She was not the problem. She was most likely innocent. However, she bore a son from her husband who had been killed in the war. She taught her son the history of her family in hopes that he would learn from her father's mistakes. But he was proud and had a strong desire to be king. He was obedient to his mother until the day she died.
"From then on he began to preach to his sons and daughter's about the history that his mother had given him. But he told it with malice and longing. He knew he was no match for the great Clow Reed or the returning Li family. But he knew that one of his children would be. That they could create Power with in themselves."
At this point, Long took a breath and a sip of water. Sakura was amazed that he could talk for so long at his age without break. But she was only left to think for a moment before he continued his voice as strong as ever.
"And so the malice was passed from father to son in a direct line until the present day. They spent the years researching Clow as well and passing that knowledge as well. They learned of the Cards and knew that if they were ever inherited by either the rulers of the Chinese people or of Tomoeda as a whole then their chances will have been wasted. For no one beats the Power of the one who tames the Cards. But they eventually learned that the Cards were protected until the chosen person came to inherit them. They could not be stolen away and used. That is, while the current possessor was alive. If they killed the one who held the Cards then the Cards could be taken and they would have the Power beyond anyone."
Sakura just soaked this in for a moment before actually understanding. "So they want my Cards? They have some personal vendetta, a stupid one, and they want to kill me to achieve it? So they can have the Cards." She stopped speaking for a moment. "If they were such Powerful geniuses why didn't they just take the Cards to begin with? It's not like they were that well hidden. Even I recognize the fact that I felt their presence. It's just stupid."
Elder Long's lips twitched a little, showing that perhaps he agreed. But then he also knew more than he was telling which Sakura immediately assumed since it was just too stupid to be borne.
"That's not everything. Tell me the rest," she demanded with a voice that reeked with authority.
"She's a smart one," Sheng commented.
"I knew she was, I told you," Quen Yuan chuckled.
Sakura glared at the respective elders, effectively silencing them if not removing the almost proud grin from their face.
"Elder Long has told you the most basic history, Princess Sakura. There is more to tell," Yelan said with a calming tone.
"Then tell already."
She nodded and for a moment paused as if thinking where to begin. "You didn't ask why we had never stopped something like this from occurring even though we were allowed back on to our lands and controlled much of what the previous king had. The answer would be because we didn't know. In fact our ancestors were so ignorant of the hate that some even married into their family and strengthened their blood. Not many, since it was too dangerous to bring in too many outsiders. But one of them was a Li and a Powerful one. She passed her Power onto her children and also a little wisdom.
"The original plan had been one of revenge and malice. However, the more that was learned of the Cards the more the idea of stealing them from the new Master, or Mistress as it happened, began to sound ridiculous. They wouldn't be able to control the Cards since they were so Powerful. Only the one destined to inherit them would be able to. And so while they knew exactly where the Cards were they stayed away. They formulated a new plan."
Sakura interrupted, curious though she was about the new plan, something had been skipped over. "Lady Yelan, if you didn't know, how do you now and why haven't you stopped them?"
Yelan grimaced a little. "We have only known the truth for about a year. You see there is only one descendant left that is directly from the old king. However, he has many cousins, most of which have changed sides and have adapted into the Chinese lands and culture or that of Tomoeda itself. So there were less and less people who knew since only the most trusted were told of this plot. But a year ago one of the trusted ones saw the stupidity in it and came to us with her knowledge."
She paused for a moment, obviously regretful. "She was killed by the man who hunts you now. And as for why we didn't do anything before, well listen to the rest of my story and I will tell you."
Sakura nodded, brows furrowed at the idea of someone killing their own cousin who had obviously been trusted before.
"As I was saying this new plan was well formulated and also more realistic, especially with the sudden flourish of Power that receiving Li blood gave. Instead of killing the new Card Mistress why not just take her to their side? It had been prophesized that the Cards would reach their possessor when they were still young and, thus still malleable. Also, at first there would be a period of time in which the Cards must be mastered. So it was simple. Let the Cards go to their rightful owner and let the owner be taken over themselves. They are most likely out to get your trust right now but, Princess, they will not hesitate to kill you if you show signs of disobeying them.
"And as to why we didn't stop him, well, that is because his Power rivals Xiao Lang's and has mastered it well. Someone of such great Power cannot be challenged so easily, even with a year's worth of work. And also for that year he has been moving, rarely at home. He has obviously been watching for the day you would inherit. He obviously knew it was you too since he was underway so quickly."
Sakura nodded. "But why didn't you tell me any of this earlier? This isn't any knowledge that is so horrendous that takes such great secrecy. Especially when we have been isolated so much."
"Simply there are two reasons. One is so that you would not be frightened to the point that you would not concentrate on mastering your Cards." Sakura rolled her eyes at that. The idea of a nameless attacker seemed more frightening to her but then she had never been sure before that she was running for her life or at the very least her will. "The second may sound harsh but it is a fact of necessity. If you had been told everything but then later had been taken under their grasp and made to speak then they would know what we know and there would not be the chance of us overpowering him after that."
She sighed. IT was a bit harsh to think that she couldn't keep her lips buttoned but she understood. In fact she now understood a lot more than she had thought she would have to and yet at the same time had a hundred new questions that could not be answered by anyone outside of herself. Finally she curtsied to everyone present and excused herself to leave.
"I have things I need to sort out." She didn't wait for anyone to respond but quickly and gracefully walked from the room without looking back.
Li watched the princess go with a heavy heart before turning back to the Elders. "Two things: first, is she really to be the next Queen of Tomoeda?"
Yelan nodded. "I foresaw it. Her brother has chosen to love unsuitably for someone in a leader's situation. He will pass the throne to her with ease and without regret. Sooner than she realizes," the serene lady said with a touch of pain to her voice.
Li didn't pause to take this in but instead bowed to everyone present. "And second, thank you for not telling her what that man is capable of."
"Why? Do you think she would be frightened to the point of not being able to work to her fullest?" Xing Zhi inquired.
Li shook his head. "No. She is not the kind of person to run away from anything, no matter how scared she is. But she is already having prophetic dreams where she sees blood and death. She thinks they are nightmares but if she were to learn about the atrocities he has committed she would not sleep all together."
He bowed again and turned to follow after the princess, to perhaps explain his actions, or perhaps just to watch her from afar as he had found himself doing so often. When he had left completely, Elder Long spoke up.
"He's already in love with her isn't he?"
"Yes, he is," Yelan said with a smile.
"Is she the one you foresaw? The girl is already legendary but will she also be the one to make him into the leader he should be?" Xing Zhi begged to know.
Yelan stared at the spot where the two had disappeared. "A mother could only hope. Even if she were they would have to conquer the fact that she will be Queen and he will be the new leader."
"Oh, I doubt they would need to," Chen Rong said, speaking for the first time before he got up and left the others wondering about what he meant.
(A/N: I have no clue what happens next in all seriousness. Usually I prewrite a little in my head but this time I have nothing jotted down on the mental notebook. However, I think it's easier to write with the Li family than when they were traveling so either way it shouldn't be too long before the next update. Sides, two updates in two days aint so bad. Specially juicy plot reveling updates. Anyway, Ja!)