My Little Wolf
By SibylSofiana
Chapter Three
The Rogue Ancestor
Na-ah. We don't own Clow Reed, but we do own Jade, Aidan, cute little Peipei and a bunch of old elderly geezers who keep meddling.
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Li Yun was busy researching all the information he could possibly gather about Clow Reed with the help of Yelan. One day, he came upon a journal that was gathering dust in the basement. After dusting it, he brought it back to the library where Yelan had left him with some herbal tea to relieve his recurring headaches. He settled himself down on the sofa and opened the journal. He caught a faint hint of jasmine as he looked at the Chinese characters. Jade Li.
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Jade Li was Li Yun's great-great-great grandfather's sister.
Jade Li had met a British citizen by the name of Aidan Reed at the hospital where he was worked, and they were instantly attracted to each other. They had gotten married and moved to England, to the sadness of Jade's brother, who loved
her dearly.
But she was destined to come back to Hong Kong eleven years later, her son Claudius in tow, after Aidan's death in a tragic accident. By this time, her brother was now The Li, and it was with great joy that he welcomed her back home.
~o~o~o~
Although Jade loved her brother, she privately thought him a stuffed shirt. And now that he was The Li, he was stuffier than ever. And the Elders! No matter that she loved her brother, she was glad to have left with Aidan for England. The Elders were quite meddlesome – thank the Heavens she had been born female! That left her out of the magical inheritance. Not that she cared, if all she would be getting was an earful of reprimands and scoldings.
Even now the Elders had ambushed her in the Sun Room a few days upon her return just to give her a disapproving lecture.
"Ah, the prodigal daughter has returned." An elderly aunt cackled.
"I used to live here, Aunt. I still have a home here. I can come back whenever I wish."
"And bring home a wai gwa ran brat?" This from another old aunt.
(A/N: Mandarin for 'foreigner'. Not so sure about the spelling, though).
"Good thing your brother's son will be the next Li, and not that puny brat of yours."
"Claudius is not a Li, Aunt. He's a Reed. He won't be in line for the inheritance." Thank God! Jade muttered fervently to herself.
But the Elders just couldn't take a hint.
"Whatever breed he comes from, he will never be a Li. He looks like he comes from poor stock – weak eyes, a thin frame –"
Jade could stand it no longer, and fire flashed from her eyes.
"I warn you, Aunt. My son may not be a Li, but I am. I do not take kindly to insults, and I AM better than my brother. Do not tempt me."
The five Elders did not dispute this fact, because it was definitely true. Instead they just shut up and left the room.
~o~o~o~
Bravo! thought Li Yun, as he skimmed through the old journal. Oddly enough, Jade Li reminded him of his wife...
~o~o~o~
Claudius became part of the family, although he was carefully excluded from the Li magic inheritance. His male cousins would taunt him because of his weak eyes and his foreign blood, but his girl cousins loved him, as he was fun to be with and always full of pranks.
His youngest cousin Peipei, barely three years old, could not pronounce his name properly and could only lisp, "Cousin Cloww " and the name stuck, to his chagrin. ("There was only so much dignity an eleven year old citizen of the British Empire could have!" This sentiment was apparently amusing to Jade Li as she was writing it down.) But in time, he got used to it and even forgot his real name on occasion.
~o~o~o~o~
Clow may have only been half Li, but Jade did not neglect her son's magical training. Unbeknownst to the Clan, Aidan Reed was descended from an ancient line of Celts, and he was a healer by profession. While Aidan Reed had taught his son benign western magic, Jade Li had taught Clow everything about Li attack magic – Fire, Thunder, Wind, Water.
And Clow was talented. He had the gift of premonition from his father, but given time, he probably could even beat his cousin in a full arcane battle – no holds barred! Jade thought smugly. Nevertheless, she taught her son restraint and to use magic only when needful.
~o~o~o~o~
"Now, Clow is a good boy, but I know he does love a good laugh. Poor boy. I'm quite sure he's hard-pressed not to give some cousin a well-deserved invisible spanking, or a dunking in the family well…"
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The journal then talked about other personal matters. Fascinating, but he needed to find something about the Cards. Li Yun picked up another nondescript book he found in the basement and browsed through it idly.
"The very first Clow Card came into existence one hot summer day, when the Li Clan was relaxing in the garden. .."
Li Yun felt a surge of excitement. It was about the Cards!
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"A-ya! It's so hot! And there's no wind!" A girl cousin complained.
Clow idly thought about the Li wind spell taught by his mother. It wouldn't really work without a Li magic artifact, like his Uncle's ceremonial sword.
He still was being left out of magic training, his male cousins smirking at him, but he really didn't think he needed it anyway. He was stronger than any of them and he didn't need to prove anything to the Lis. His Mum had even cautioned him against showing off.
But he was bored. And it was so hot!
He peered around surreptitiously – nobody was looking!
Clow thought for a moment. A rod! He held out his hands and whispered a spell. The rod he fashioned had elongated, with the design of the sun and the moon at the tip.
As he admired his work, he thought, hey, maybe I could combine Mum's wind spell with Dad's weather magic...
As he was concentrating on using just the right spell, a cousin caught sight of him.
"Hey, Clow, what are you doing...H-HH-EYY!" The wind whipped towards the hapless Li cousin, blotting out the rays of the sun and blowing through the garden path. At the end of the spell, half the Clan were flat on the ground and staring at him in disbelief.
Clow just stood bemusedly, holding up a card he called Windy, before he finally fainted.
~o~o~o~
When he woke up, he got a stern lecture from his mother.
"Stupid boy! Did I not tell you not to show off?" He had the grace to look sheepish and apologetic. "And creating a magic item! You could have drained yourself dry – and where would I pick up your pieces, feh?"
"I'm sorry, Mum. Really."
She looked at him sternly, checking to see if he was properly repentant. Then she gave him a slow grin.
"I ought to give you a beating, you know. You've set off the Elders on their collective ears, and they're going to blame me for raising you wrong." She ruffled his hair fondly.
"Never mind them, love. They're just so stiff-necked sometimes. Even your Uncle. But even they have to admit that was good magic. Good and strong."
As his eyes lit up with her praise, she gave him a smart smack.
"Now, don't get cocky. Get smart. You wouldn't want them to call you a fainting flower on top of everything else, do you?"
~o~o~o~o~
And so the first of the Clow Cards where born. Clow took his Mum's advice and conserved his strength for more important magic. Somehow his Western/Eastern background made him understand complex concepts – a balance perhaps? The concept of yin-yang? Whatever it was, Clow Reed the Sorcerer was growing stronger.
As if the Cards weren't enough, Clow created Guardians --- Keroberos the Sun and Yue the Moon. That feat definitely solidified Clow's mastery of magic. Even if the Elders tried to ignore Clow, well, the Guardians and the Cards were a different story.
(Clow created more Cards, but some were downright silly. A Bubble Card to clean the Sun Guardian? Clow definitely had a weird sense of humor. Oh well, Yelan could use it for laundry...)
Well, Clow Reed's accomplishments did give the Li Clan some fame. But soon he had made enemies with the Water Mage for some reason. Professional jealousy, perhaps? Because the Li Clan did not want to fight with her influential family, and because he was overshadowing the rightful Li Heir, Clow decided to move to back to England.
~o~o~o~o~
Clow had lived in England for a long while, and had travelled to Osaka before finally settling down in Tomoeda, Japan. Clow would visit Hongkong once in a while to see his mother, but stopped when she died. Then the Li Clan had lost
all contact with him.
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Yun frowned. The story could not have ended there. Where were the Cards? Where were the Guardians?
He riffled through the books he had collected so far in the library. His eyes suddenly fell on a slim volume, an English book of poetry.
How did this get here? It looked well-thumbed and old.
His gaze fell on a signature on the bottom left inner flap.
C. Reed
Could it be? He read one of the poems.
When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted,
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.
Byron. Er, gloomy stuff. Yun's eyes fell on a spidery scrawl at the bottom.
Madoushi...(The Water Mage?)
Caught up in the mystery, his eyes fell on another poem, this time by Shelley:
When the lamp is shatter'd
The light in the dust lies dead –
When the cloud is scatter'd,
The rainbow's glory is shed...
There was some writing below the poem. I woke up distressed... I dreamt about death. Mine. My poor Yue.
As Yun read the poem and the succeeding scribble, he felt a shudder course through him. A premonition? He shook his head, unnerved, and put the book back in the shelf. The poems were just too disturbing for his peace of mind.
But the mystery still remained. Where were the Clow Cards?
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Li Yun shared his passion and knowledge with Yelan. Yelan was very supportive of his quest, and as they lay together in their room, they dreamed of the knowledge they would impart to their son, who would be the heir to the Li Magic. If they were lucky, their son would also be heir to Clow Reed's magic.
But alas, Li Yun was running out of time.
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"I'm dying, Wei."
The two men were sharing a bottle of brandy in the den. They had just come from Chin's tenth birthday, and Yelan was off to see the girls to bed.
Ah, I'm not even thirty yet, he brooded to himself.
Li Han had been thirty when he died. The sons of this generation are ill-starred. The Elders are going to blame this on Li Peng Mai again. Poor girl.
"Does Madam know?" Wei asked quietly.
"Probably." He fell to thinking again, this time about his unborn son. He would never know this son. His son who would be the spitting image of Li Han. Fierce tawny eyes, dark brown hair...but with his mother's strong will and his
father's sensitive soul. This much he knew, though he didn't know how.
"When, Yun-sama?"
"Too soon for my liking, Wei." He turned to look at the older man, who returned his look with compassion in his eyes.
"I wish I had more time – my son needs me. Yelan needs me. The girls need me. But I won't be there." He looked gloomily at his brandy glass, wincing a little as another headache hit him. Lately, he couldn't even get out of bed without Yelan's assistance. He had managed to hide it from the Elders and the children, but Yelan's glance had been sharp and worried.
"And this thing about Clow Reed is important." Wei nodded. He knew how much effort Li Yun had poured into his studies the past few months. As if he knew there wouldn't be enough time.
"Wei, I have a favor to ask." Wei gave him a sidelong glance. He had served the Li family ever since Chin was born, and Li Yun had never asked for a favor, especially from a servant. But then, Wei had never felt like a servant. He knew his place, but this family of his treated him like one of their own.
"Please take care of my little family, Wei."
The older man tsked.
"That is a given, Young Master. That is not a favor."
"My son...my son will be special someday, Wei. He needs someone to look after him. Yelan will teach him the Li Magic, but you..." he looked at Wei sadly.
"Teach him...tell him everything you know. Martial arts, classical literature, geography, languages..."
"You know I will, Yun-sama..."
"Protect him from the Elders, shield him from their scrutiny. Yelan can only do so much. A son needs his father, Wei." Wei only nodded again. "But you can...uuggh...!"
The glass fell and the contents flew to the carpet as Yun put both hands to his head. The headache had returned with a vengeance. It was all he could do to keep the tears from coursing down his cheeks – goddammit, the pain was unbearable!
As Wei hurriedly kneeled to assist him, he struggled to keep focused. Yun knotted his fingers in Wei's shirt and whispered fiercely.
"Promise me, Wei. Promise me!"
The older man squeezed Li Yun's shoulder comfortingly.
"I promise."
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In his last days, Yun could not do anything but lie on his sickbed. His namesake, Yun-tsai was constantly teary-eyed even as she volunteered to assist her mother in watching him. And now that little nurse was fast asleep by his side, exhausted.
As he stroked his daughter's hair, he held in his other hand the book of poetry he had asked Shing-shing to bring from the library. There was something important – something he missed.
He shakingly skimmed through the pages once more – ah, there! A faint hint of memory…
As he flattened the book open at his lap, his eyes went to the page, which was illustrated with cherry trees. Sakura blossoms. And then he caught sight of some scribblings at the margins.
I often dream of cherry blossoms, and I smile! Perhaps I should go to Japan...
Green eyes -- green eyes and tawny ones. A boy with tawny eyes, who looks like Uncle. My son? No, not my son. A little wolf! Fierce and loyal! But my little cherry blossom will be Mistress of the Cards, and Tamer of the Wolf!
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Authors' Scribbles:
Well, we did classify it as "Drama"! So it is a little sad.
Isn't Jade a real gem? And she does sound like Yelan – the Yelan we write about, anyway.
We are not really sure about the time frame of Byron and Shelley's works of poetry, so let's just ignore the little technicalities, ok?
You'll be hearing about Xiao Lang's sisters in the next chapters – we've named them Chin, Yun-tsai, Shing-shing and little Fan.
Our personal thanks to our reviewers. Please tell us what you think, ok?