Disclaimer: Please refer to Chapter 1, Thank you.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In case you are wondering:
~*~ : change of scene
' ' : Characters' thought
" " : Characters speaking
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 11:
"Ah, the greatest sorcerer ever to live, now just a reincarnation," Zean smirked, noticing Eriol standing near the balcony, which was situated at the other end of the room.
"Didn't expect you to be such a coward to commit an act such as this, Zean. I thought you were better than resorting to kidnapping defenseless maidens from their palace," Eriol mocked, ignoring the previous comment made by the dark sorcerer. Zean's smirk faded as he glared with utter loathing at Eriol.
"Had you not continue to live on after Arashi's suicide, I would not have to turn to the dark arts to preserve my youth and exact my revenge on you," he spat out bitterly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Clow-sama! I want to see Clow-sama right now!" Miko screamed at the guard, who refused to let her into the Quintessence grounds, no matter how hard she had tried to push her way in.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miko-hime. But the Queen has give specific orders not to let anyone from the Winter Soliloquy..." the guard trailed off apologetically, seeing the distress look on the Princess face, but was interrupted by a clearing of throat behind him. He turned, and upon seeing the Quintessence high-court magician, bowed in greeting.
"What is going on? Miko-hime, what are you doing here?" Clow asked, concerned, as he spotted Arashi's older sister.
"Arashi's in trouble! Clow-sama, you have to make a trip to the Winter Soliloquy Palace right now!" seeing the wild look in Miko's eyes, Clow had a dreadful feeling that his beloved was not going to be alright.
"Led the way, Miko-hime. I will come with you."
A few moments after he arrived at the palace, he noticed that the maids, whom he had passed by, were all sniffing quietly and some were even trying hard to keep their tears from flowing. It was at that moment that Clow seemed to lose his control. He round on Miko, who was also now trying to keep her tears from getting out.
"What happen exactly? I sensed a really depressing aura all around the Palace."
"Arashi...she committed suicide, Clow-sama...in her room..."
Upon hearing this, he wasted no time in getting to Arashi's private chambers. There, on the four-poster bed, laid Arashi, the front of her robes were bloodied and he could just distinctly saw the slashed wounds that marred her porcelain skin on her wrist. She looked barely alive. Hastily, he made his way over and sat by the dying Princess's bedside.
"Why are you so foolish, my love?" Clow whispered desperately, wishing that all of this was a nightmare. Arashi's eyes fluttered opened and she focus her gaze on the sorcerer.
"Clow-san...I couldn't take it anymore...please, do not grief for me...I loved you..." Arashi murmured. Little river of tears could be seen flowing down Arashi's pallid face. Clow replied by picking up her hands gently and held it in his.
"Would you promise me one thing, Clow-san?" before he could speak, however, she continued as if she was talking to herself.
"Promise to live on...even if I'm gone, you know that I will come back one day. I might not be the same when we meet again, but we will be of the same soul..." her voice trailed off as her eyes closed. The hand that Clow was holding on, went slack in his grip and was already turning icy cold.
"I promised," Clow whispered into the silent room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Clow-san had promised Arashi-hime to live on. In any case, he's not stupid to end his life to show his love for her. By the way, you had already turn to the dark arts way before Clow-san decided not to go along as you might have expected," Eriol pointed out coolly, remembering the dream he had, before Sonomi Daidouji had storm the Quintessence Palace.
"You are the one who pushed me to the edge!" Zean snapped, furious that he had so little effect on the reincarnation.
"Clow-san might have been the one to push you to your end, but Clow is Clow. I'm not Clow anymore, I'm just me," Eriol replied back in an icy voice.
"Makes no difference to me. To me, you reincarnate from Clow himself. And anyone, who is related to him in anyway, will be facing my vengence."
"Somehow, I'm beginning to think that you are not right in the mind..." Tomoyo spoke for the first time since Eriol arrived. Eriol looked at her worriedly.
"Daidouji-san, are you alright? He didn't do anything to you?" Eriol asked softly. Tomoyo just replied by shaking her head. Zean fumed. Even after all these years, he still failed to make the ex-greatest sorcerer notice him.
"Forget about the princess! I demand you to pay attention!"
"You do not have the authority to make me do anything for you, Zean! You're kidnapping the Princess just because you feel miserable about some small little thing that had occurred in the past, and now I am over the limit with your childishness!" Eriol snapped. For the first time, Hiiragizawa Eriol lost his temper. The change in his demeanor was so abrupt that Tomoyo cringed slightly away.
'Hiiragizawa-san's eyes looks so dangerous when he's angry like that..." Tomoyo thought, as she looked sadly at Eriol.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Clow Read was admiring the sakura raining down from the tree with his two guardians, when he sensed a presence hovering near his mansion. Yue looked at the sorcerer expressionlessly, before speaking.
"I will go and see who is at the door."
A few minutes later, Yue appeared, with a palace guard behind him. The guard bowed, then produced a parchment from inside his sleeves.
"Clow Read, you are invited into the Quintessence Palace to serve the King and Queen as a court magician. Please be prepared to leave by sunset," the palace guard commanded. Clow looked at him, amused.
"If I'm not mistaken, I believed that Quintessence already have a court magician by the name of Zean Redlocke. Surely, he is more than capable in serving the court. Besides, I have no desire to leave my guardians here by themselves, much less this house, which I had been living in, since even before you are born."
The palace guard gulped and looked less commanding. Somehow, Clow had an air around him that commanded respect, even though he looked mild- tempered. Only, of course, both his guardians knew his personality well enough to say that the guard would be send away, if he was to continue to disregard him. The guard tugged at his sleeves, a sign of nervousness.
"But Sir, the King would have my head if you do not come with me into the Palace. His majesty says that your guardians can come along with you and that you can still continue to live outside the palace if you so wish."
Clow gave a mental sigh, as the palace guard looked appealingly at him.
"I will go with you, but whether or not I accept serving the royalty, is still my decision."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Clow Read was mildly surprised, when the King himself presented a warm welcome to him personally when he arrived at Quintessence. Clow bowed politely.
"Your majesty, I do think that I hardly deserved such hospitality from the king."
"I do think you deserved it. In any case, I'm happy to know that you could take a little of your time to come here. This is the current court-magician, Zean Redlocke," the king gestured to the man in yellow robes, who was standing a little way behind him.
"If that is the case, then why do I receive word that I'm to serve your majesty? One court-magician is sufficient, I believed. I do not like to concern myself with affairs of the courts and such, anyway. I do hope that your Majesty would not be offended."
"From now on, though. You will be the high-court sorcerer and the court magician will be your junior. Zean is still slightly inexperience. He will need a lot of guidance from you I believe." the King's tone had made it clear that there was to be no argument, not even from the greatest sorcerer himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Since the day you stepped into Quintessence, is the day I fall! His majesty only has his eyes fixed on you!" Zean snarled, then quite suddenly, he smiled.
"But I don't care about that, I told myself. For I still have the one thing which you lack. But alas! you took that away from me as well!" Zean went on, his face twisted into an expression of insane happiness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Clow-sama, his Majesty wants me to inform you that there will be guests coming to visit. He wishes for you to be in your royal robes and awaiting their arrival," a maid murmured, holding out a dark-coloured material with both her hands.
The guests turned out to be the Royal family from a neighbouring kingdom, Winter Soliloquy. A particular dark-haired maiden had caught not just his eyes, but had captured his lonely heart as well. Words had failed to describe her graceful beauty.
"Clow-san, this is the Royalties from one of our neighouring kingdom. King and Queen Daidouji. And following that, Princesses Saki, Miko and Arashi. These princesses are not just the only one, the others are too busy with their own work to come," the King began the introductions formally. But Clow was only keeping half his mind on what the King was saying. The other half, well, you could say that the youngest princess of Winter Soliloquy had occupied it. The young princess avert her graze shyly when she noticed Clow's open admiration. Clow smiled back gently and politely.
Someone noticed the silent exchange between the Princess and the sorcerer. Zean's eyes narrowed with pure loathing for the greatest sorcerer alived - Clow Read.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tomoyo gasped. 'No way!'
"You're in love with Princess Arashi? But it cannot be..." Tomoyo faltered, staring, stunned at Zean, who was still smiling that insane smile of his.
Zean laughed bitterly, "That is the truth. I am in love with Princess Arashi, or rather I'm now in love with you."
"You cause her misery and killed her indirectly. How can you love her like this?" Eriol asked, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"If I cannot have her, then no one can. Of course, a little sacrifice to the King is in order..."
"Bastard," Eriol whispered softly. Tomoyo was on the verge of tears. 'How could he do this to me? To kill away Arashi's purity?' Zean looked at her lovingly.
"You remember, Arashi. I feel sad for you. Only I should be touching you, not the King. Should I have the choice, but you must be sacrificed for my plan to be carried out. But it is in vain, for Clow remains alive. When Clow disappeared from the Palace for a period of time, I thought that he had given up his life. But no, he returned back to the mansion that he used to live in and reincarnate!"
"You are crazy!" Tomoyo sobbed and shivered.
"I do love you. I was planning to ask the Queen for your hand the first time we met at a party. But who was to know that you have already met him even before you meet me and host a masked ball." Just as he was talking, Zean's face began to ripple, in a sickening sort of way. In just seconds, they were not looking at Zean, but at...
"Duke of Ylang!"
"Yes, yes...I was planning to reveal myself to you after I get you, but plan had changed..." He started to waved his hands with a flourish.
Tomoyo's eyes widened and dulled. Her lips quivered and parted slightly in sadness.
"No...I can't take this anymore...Miko-neesan, Okaa-sama, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault, I've cast misery upon all of you...Otou-sama, why did you have to die?..." Tomoyo sobbed, as huge drop of tears flowed from her wide, unseeing eyes. So beautiful, yet empty.
Eriol looked astonished, at the princess sitting on the bed, before his realized what happened.
"Stop this at once, Zean! If you want your stupid revenge, come after me, not the princess!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
WoLfPaWs : eh...my apologies to the readers*bows and apologize*...I'm so sorry for the long wait...it's just that I've been so busy with my job that I hardly have the time to do some serious typing, which is why my stories have been sitting at fanfiction.net, collecting dust...maa, I will do my best next time![I hope]...forgive me if this confuse you in anyway, and thanks to those reviewers who have stay with me!^_^
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In case you are wondering:
~*~ : change of scene
' ' : Characters' thought
" " : Characters speaking
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 11:
"Ah, the greatest sorcerer ever to live, now just a reincarnation," Zean smirked, noticing Eriol standing near the balcony, which was situated at the other end of the room.
"Didn't expect you to be such a coward to commit an act such as this, Zean. I thought you were better than resorting to kidnapping defenseless maidens from their palace," Eriol mocked, ignoring the previous comment made by the dark sorcerer. Zean's smirk faded as he glared with utter loathing at Eriol.
"Had you not continue to live on after Arashi's suicide, I would not have to turn to the dark arts to preserve my youth and exact my revenge on you," he spat out bitterly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Clow-sama! I want to see Clow-sama right now!" Miko screamed at the guard, who refused to let her into the Quintessence grounds, no matter how hard she had tried to push her way in.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miko-hime. But the Queen has give specific orders not to let anyone from the Winter Soliloquy..." the guard trailed off apologetically, seeing the distress look on the Princess face, but was interrupted by a clearing of throat behind him. He turned, and upon seeing the Quintessence high-court magician, bowed in greeting.
"What is going on? Miko-hime, what are you doing here?" Clow asked, concerned, as he spotted Arashi's older sister.
"Arashi's in trouble! Clow-sama, you have to make a trip to the Winter Soliloquy Palace right now!" seeing the wild look in Miko's eyes, Clow had a dreadful feeling that his beloved was not going to be alright.
"Led the way, Miko-hime. I will come with you."
A few moments after he arrived at the palace, he noticed that the maids, whom he had passed by, were all sniffing quietly and some were even trying hard to keep their tears from flowing. It was at that moment that Clow seemed to lose his control. He round on Miko, who was also now trying to keep her tears from getting out.
"What happen exactly? I sensed a really depressing aura all around the Palace."
"Arashi...she committed suicide, Clow-sama...in her room..."
Upon hearing this, he wasted no time in getting to Arashi's private chambers. There, on the four-poster bed, laid Arashi, the front of her robes were bloodied and he could just distinctly saw the slashed wounds that marred her porcelain skin on her wrist. She looked barely alive. Hastily, he made his way over and sat by the dying Princess's bedside.
"Why are you so foolish, my love?" Clow whispered desperately, wishing that all of this was a nightmare. Arashi's eyes fluttered opened and she focus her gaze on the sorcerer.
"Clow-san...I couldn't take it anymore...please, do not grief for me...I loved you..." Arashi murmured. Little river of tears could be seen flowing down Arashi's pallid face. Clow replied by picking up her hands gently and held it in his.
"Would you promise me one thing, Clow-san?" before he could speak, however, she continued as if she was talking to herself.
"Promise to live on...even if I'm gone, you know that I will come back one day. I might not be the same when we meet again, but we will be of the same soul..." her voice trailed off as her eyes closed. The hand that Clow was holding on, went slack in his grip and was already turning icy cold.
"I promised," Clow whispered into the silent room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Clow-san had promised Arashi-hime to live on. In any case, he's not stupid to end his life to show his love for her. By the way, you had already turn to the dark arts way before Clow-san decided not to go along as you might have expected," Eriol pointed out coolly, remembering the dream he had, before Sonomi Daidouji had storm the Quintessence Palace.
"You are the one who pushed me to the edge!" Zean snapped, furious that he had so little effect on the reincarnation.
"Clow-san might have been the one to push you to your end, but Clow is Clow. I'm not Clow anymore, I'm just me," Eriol replied back in an icy voice.
"Makes no difference to me. To me, you reincarnate from Clow himself. And anyone, who is related to him in anyway, will be facing my vengence."
"Somehow, I'm beginning to think that you are not right in the mind..." Tomoyo spoke for the first time since Eriol arrived. Eriol looked at her worriedly.
"Daidouji-san, are you alright? He didn't do anything to you?" Eriol asked softly. Tomoyo just replied by shaking her head. Zean fumed. Even after all these years, he still failed to make the ex-greatest sorcerer notice him.
"Forget about the princess! I demand you to pay attention!"
"You do not have the authority to make me do anything for you, Zean! You're kidnapping the Princess just because you feel miserable about some small little thing that had occurred in the past, and now I am over the limit with your childishness!" Eriol snapped. For the first time, Hiiragizawa Eriol lost his temper. The change in his demeanor was so abrupt that Tomoyo cringed slightly away.
'Hiiragizawa-san's eyes looks so dangerous when he's angry like that..." Tomoyo thought, as she looked sadly at Eriol.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Clow Read was admiring the sakura raining down from the tree with his two guardians, when he sensed a presence hovering near his mansion. Yue looked at the sorcerer expressionlessly, before speaking.
"I will go and see who is at the door."
A few minutes later, Yue appeared, with a palace guard behind him. The guard bowed, then produced a parchment from inside his sleeves.
"Clow Read, you are invited into the Quintessence Palace to serve the King and Queen as a court magician. Please be prepared to leave by sunset," the palace guard commanded. Clow looked at him, amused.
"If I'm not mistaken, I believed that Quintessence already have a court magician by the name of Zean Redlocke. Surely, he is more than capable in serving the court. Besides, I have no desire to leave my guardians here by themselves, much less this house, which I had been living in, since even before you are born."
The palace guard gulped and looked less commanding. Somehow, Clow had an air around him that commanded respect, even though he looked mild- tempered. Only, of course, both his guardians knew his personality well enough to say that the guard would be send away, if he was to continue to disregard him. The guard tugged at his sleeves, a sign of nervousness.
"But Sir, the King would have my head if you do not come with me into the Palace. His majesty says that your guardians can come along with you and that you can still continue to live outside the palace if you so wish."
Clow gave a mental sigh, as the palace guard looked appealingly at him.
"I will go with you, but whether or not I accept serving the royalty, is still my decision."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Clow Read was mildly surprised, when the King himself presented a warm welcome to him personally when he arrived at Quintessence. Clow bowed politely.
"Your majesty, I do think that I hardly deserved such hospitality from the king."
"I do think you deserved it. In any case, I'm happy to know that you could take a little of your time to come here. This is the current court-magician, Zean Redlocke," the king gestured to the man in yellow robes, who was standing a little way behind him.
"If that is the case, then why do I receive word that I'm to serve your majesty? One court-magician is sufficient, I believed. I do not like to concern myself with affairs of the courts and such, anyway. I do hope that your Majesty would not be offended."
"From now on, though. You will be the high-court sorcerer and the court magician will be your junior. Zean is still slightly inexperience. He will need a lot of guidance from you I believe." the King's tone had made it clear that there was to be no argument, not even from the greatest sorcerer himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Since the day you stepped into Quintessence, is the day I fall! His majesty only has his eyes fixed on you!" Zean snarled, then quite suddenly, he smiled.
"But I don't care about that, I told myself. For I still have the one thing which you lack. But alas! you took that away from me as well!" Zean went on, his face twisted into an expression of insane happiness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Clow-sama, his Majesty wants me to inform you that there will be guests coming to visit. He wishes for you to be in your royal robes and awaiting their arrival," a maid murmured, holding out a dark-coloured material with both her hands.
The guests turned out to be the Royal family from a neighbouring kingdom, Winter Soliloquy. A particular dark-haired maiden had caught not just his eyes, but had captured his lonely heart as well. Words had failed to describe her graceful beauty.
"Clow-san, this is the Royalties from one of our neighouring kingdom. King and Queen Daidouji. And following that, Princesses Saki, Miko and Arashi. These princesses are not just the only one, the others are too busy with their own work to come," the King began the introductions formally. But Clow was only keeping half his mind on what the King was saying. The other half, well, you could say that the youngest princess of Winter Soliloquy had occupied it. The young princess avert her graze shyly when she noticed Clow's open admiration. Clow smiled back gently and politely.
Someone noticed the silent exchange between the Princess and the sorcerer. Zean's eyes narrowed with pure loathing for the greatest sorcerer alived - Clow Read.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tomoyo gasped. 'No way!'
"You're in love with Princess Arashi? But it cannot be..." Tomoyo faltered, staring, stunned at Zean, who was still smiling that insane smile of his.
Zean laughed bitterly, "That is the truth. I am in love with Princess Arashi, or rather I'm now in love with you."
"You cause her misery and killed her indirectly. How can you love her like this?" Eriol asked, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"If I cannot have her, then no one can. Of course, a little sacrifice to the King is in order..."
"Bastard," Eriol whispered softly. Tomoyo was on the verge of tears. 'How could he do this to me? To kill away Arashi's purity?' Zean looked at her lovingly.
"You remember, Arashi. I feel sad for you. Only I should be touching you, not the King. Should I have the choice, but you must be sacrificed for my plan to be carried out. But it is in vain, for Clow remains alive. When Clow disappeared from the Palace for a period of time, I thought that he had given up his life. But no, he returned back to the mansion that he used to live in and reincarnate!"
"You are crazy!" Tomoyo sobbed and shivered.
"I do love you. I was planning to ask the Queen for your hand the first time we met at a party. But who was to know that you have already met him even before you meet me and host a masked ball." Just as he was talking, Zean's face began to ripple, in a sickening sort of way. In just seconds, they were not looking at Zean, but at...
"Duke of Ylang!"
"Yes, yes...I was planning to reveal myself to you after I get you, but plan had changed..." He started to waved his hands with a flourish.
Tomoyo's eyes widened and dulled. Her lips quivered and parted slightly in sadness.
"No...I can't take this anymore...Miko-neesan, Okaa-sama, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault, I've cast misery upon all of you...Otou-sama, why did you have to die?..." Tomoyo sobbed, as huge drop of tears flowed from her wide, unseeing eyes. So beautiful, yet empty.
Eriol looked astonished, at the princess sitting on the bed, before his realized what happened.
"Stop this at once, Zean! If you want your stupid revenge, come after me, not the princess!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
WoLfPaWs : eh...my apologies to the readers*bows and apologize*...I'm so sorry for the long wait...it's just that I've been so busy with my job that I hardly have the time to do some serious typing, which is why my stories have been sitting at fanfiction.net, collecting dust...maa, I will do my best next time![I hope]...forgive me if this confuse you in anyway, and thanks to those reviewers who have stay with me!^_^