Once Upon a December

Chapter 7: Insightful Conversations

A/N: I promise at least one more chapter before January 6th. Sorry for the long wait!!!


"So, let me get this straight," Meiling Li began cautiously. She didn't want to speak too loud—trains were small; and she didn't want the roar of the train of the train to drown out her voice—trains were loud. "You and Eriol were looking for the Grand Duchess Sakura Kinomoto and finally found Sarah, an orphan, who you think is Sakura Kinomoto; then you bumped into Yamazacki and found out that he wants you arrested for dealing out fake government papers so he can get the reward for telling on you; then you got separated; then Eriol—Eli Moon, now—called Tomoyo, who came here with me; then we all met up by some fluke right at the very same moment.... and Sarah's not sleeping with my cousin."

Syaoran banged his head against the side of the train.

Eriol nodded. "Pretty much my side of the story. What about you two? Syaoran? Sarah?"

Syaoran and Sarah looked as if they just popped out of a daydream. Everyone leaned in, awaiting the reply. Syaoran spoke first. "Oh, you know—"

"Nothing interesting—", Sarah added.

"Just here and there stuff."

Meiling leaned in closer. "I knew it. You didn't just sleep with—"

"We hid out, and got in a fight, then got separated because I was stupid and I wanted to leave because I wasn't thinking, then we said we'd meet up, and I swear to God nothing happened!" Sarah finished.

Meiling shrugged. "Oh. In that case, I suppose it's alright."

Tomoyo shook her head. "So, Miss Sarah, you must be the person we sponcered? You are? Oh, I beg your pardon. I called you Miss Sarah. How personal, I do apologize. Though, I suppose it will become confusing with there being two Miss Daidoji's too."

Meiling rolled her eyes. "Tomoyo, nobody here calls you Miss Daidoji! You call everyone else by their last name!"

Tomoyo smiled. Syaoran left to get drinks. "I suppose that's true, isn't, Miss Li?"

Sarah shook her head. "You don't have to call me Miss Daidoji...Miss Daidoji."

"Oh, how splendid! Now, Miss Sarah, must I say that it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Introductions are all too brief, I find. Have you run into any troubles with the sponcering program?"

Sarah shook her head. "No, I haven't. Thank you for sponcering me, though."

Tomoyo smiled her ever so famous closed eye smile. "It was my family's pleasure. Though, you should thank Mr. Li, if anything. He contacted me."

Sarah nodded. "Yes...I do have a question, though."

Tomoyo nodded.

Sarah fiddled with her dress. "Your family...was a cousin to the Kinomotos'?"

Eriol butted in. "Yes, Tomoyo's mother is a first cousin to Nadishko. So that makes Tomoyo a second cousin to Sakura."

Sarah nodded her understanding. "Then you must of known Sakura well then?"

Tomoyo's eyes saddened. "Yes. We were best friends until...well, until she disappeared."

Syaoran came back with five glasses and a bottle of wine. "You'd think first class would bring the wine to you..." He gave everyone a glass. "Alright, I hope you all like Russian wine. Yes, it's white wine Eriol. Try to stay sober."

Everyone laughed; save Sarah and Tomoyo. Meiling was happy to fill in. "Eriol may have worked up a high alcohol tolerance by now. But...the more you can drink the more you do drink, right? " She winked and laughed again.

But, Tomoyo didn't. She simply stared at the sparkling clear wine glass. Was it funny that Eriol was drinking so much? Would they all laugh if they knew why he had such a high alcohol tolerance? Did any of them know it was because of her? Did they know her and Eriol's relationship was so hard on him that he begun drinking more and more, slowly...?

Meiling took a sip and nodded towards Tomoyo. "Loosen up, Tomoyo. It's alright to laugh. Eriol doesn't mind, do you, Eriol?"

Eriol smiled. "No. Not at all. But I think Miss Daidoji is too respectful of others to laugh at your bully-like jokes." Meiling raised her eyebrows and took another sip of her drink.

Sarah eyed her drink carefully. She had never had wine before. Ever. Did Syaoran know that? What would she say to the others?

She was about to find out.

"Don't drink much, Sarah?," Meiling put in, motioning to the full glass in front of her.

Sarah shook her head. "No. Not at all, really. It's alright, though."

Meiling stood up. "Yeah, we have Eriol to finish it up." She laughed along with Syaoran as she checked the clock on the far wall. 11:40 pm. "We'd all better think about getting some sleep. Sarah can come sleep over with me and Tomoyo. How about it Sarah?"

Sarah looked up at the Li girl. "Sure."


"Well, Tomoyo seems peachy." Eriol concluded to his best friend.

Syaoran nodded his agreement. "Yeah. Same with Meiling. Damn, why did she come along?!"

Eriol shook his head. "Oh, Syaoran—you know a Li better than anyone else. When Meiling puts her mind to something—she does it. And I suppose she wanted to come see you, too. You really ought to keep in touch with your family."

Syaoran snorted. "Like you do."

"I do—I write my cousin Nakura Akizuki every month. Did you hear? She got a new cat. Spinnel, I believe. Calls him Suppy for short. Other than her...I don't really have much family. I was an only child and my parents died in a freak accident ten years back."

Syaoran felt guilty; he should keep in touch with his family. "I suppose I can write Meiling, too...."

Eriol put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Syaoran, you have what I don't. A huge family. Take advantage of it, will you?"

Syaoran snorted. "Like you said, Hirragizawa, Li's know Li's best. And I know that I'm probably on the verge of being cut off completely from them. Give it a few years."

"Why?"

Syaoran sighed. "Do you remember when we were kids, Eriol? Living together in Moscow? Then I moved to China when—Tomoyo eight, you and me were ten?"

"Yes. Quite well actually. I'd known you since we were five—"

"Well, you were still too young. Eriol, my family is rich."

"Yes, I know."

Syaoran growled. "Really rich."

"Yes, I know."

"And with riches comes well...responsibility. Did I ever tell you why I ran away two years later at ten to work for the royal family? Well, I'll tell you now—I hated it. I hated being rich—no—I hated what being rich meant. I couldn't stand it."

Eriol looked at his hands that were folded on his lap. The train shook a bit. "Syaoran—me, you, Meiling and Tomoyo—we're all rich. We all understand—"

"No, you don't Eriol." Syaoran closed his eyes as memories of his parents and their strictness ran though his head. "Because I never told you everything."

And with that, he got up and left.


Sarah sat on her bed as Meiling chewed her gum noisily. "So, Sarah, where did you say you were from?"

"St. Petersburg, I suppose."

"And how old?"

"About 17."

"How long have you liked my cousin for?"

"Well....what?"

Meiling sat up. "Well, what?"

"I don't like him!"

Meiling rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Look, honey, just because you don't sleep with him doesn't mean you haven't liked him for a while." Tomoyo came into the room finishing up a braid. "I'm gonna head over to find Syaoran and catch up. See you two later."

Tomoyo watched as Meiling left. "You'll have to excuse her. She may be one of China's—or, currently, France's—richest. But she has the forwardness of a prostitute. In school once, grade eleven I believe, when she was asked as a joke how many men she had slept with she gave an honest answer."

Sarah smiled. She didn't understand half the things Tomoyo said—what did being rich and being as forward as a prostitute have to do with one another? But that didn't partially comprehend. "And how many did she say?"

Tomoyo titled her head and put a French manicured finger to her chin. "I believe...eighteen? Though, as you can guess, it's past at forty now." Tomoyo sighed as she took a seat beside Sarah. Bad thoughts."But, as I was saying, Meiling is a free spirit. You have to look past her background."

"She seems...nice. Though she thinks I like Syaoran."

Tomoyo hid a smile as she put a hand comfortingly on Sarah's shoulder. "It's alright; you'll get used to it." She smiled at the seventeen year old girl yawn. For once in her life, she felt old. She was two years younger than Eriol and Syaoran and three months younger than Meiling. "You'd better go to sleep."

Tomoyo stroked Sarah's head. Until she fell asleep. Then she quietly made her way out of the room. And, as Tomoyo made her way out, she couldn't help but feel something tugging at her heart. She took one last look as Sarah and left the room.

Just as she had taken one last look at Sakura Kinomoto after she stroked her to sleep after she awoke with nightmares to make sure she was really asleep.


"Syaoran."

Syaoran looked up. "What is this—a convention?" Syaoran inhaled his cigarette deeply. He sat alone in the billiards cabin; it closed in half an hour. Too much green. "What do you want, Meiling?," he asked blowing out a ring of smoke.

"To talk."

"I suppose you're going to talk to me no matter what, so I might as well invite you down so you can sit beside me and tell me all the current family affairs that concern me. Then I can tell you how much I hate our family and I will not, I repeat, will not return to the family and become clan leader. Then I will remind you that you rebel your position in society, and I respect it, so why you respect how I rebel mine?" Syaoran let the smoke out of his mouth.

He sat up a bit straighter and gestured with his hand to a chair beside him. "Sit down, Meiling. Why don't you tell me about the current family affairs that concern me? I hate our family; I will not, I repeat, will not, return and become clan leader. Meiling you rebel our family by being such a free spirit; you're always in the gossip and sex articles in the newspapers. And I respect that. So, why can't you respect the fact that I have decided to disown myself?"

Meiling sat down. "Only since you asked so nicely." She leaned back and grabbed a cigarette out of the pack he had just bought. "Now, you asked for the Li Clan matters that concern you?," she paused to light the item in between her lips.

"Auntie—your Mother—hasn't improved since you were ten, Syaoran. Never got over the fact you ran away to work for a family considered the equal to the richest Chinese family—the Li Clan. Never got over the fact that after the siege, you ran off to England to find Eriol and live with him and had to be dragged home. Never got over the fact that you ran away again at eighteen to meet up with Eriol. Never got over the fact that your communication with the family has gotten less and less—until it stopped last year. And will, never get over the fact that you, Li Syaoran, will not be the next clan leader."

Syaoran took a drink of his scotch. "Is that it?"

Meiling laughed.

Syaoran leaned across the table. "Meiling. Tell me the real reason why you're here."

"It's been too long Syaoran."

"Meiling!" he answerd obviously not buying her excuse.

Meiling simply rolled her eyes."The French newspapers reported that I had the hottest sex life in all of France for a non-whore. Forty-eight men, Syaoran. And I just keep pushing that number up higher and higher."

Syaoran prompt his cousin for the point of her story. "And..."

Meiling put out her cigarette as she searched for words. "Let's just say...Auntie didn't believe me when I told her that 'any publicity was good publicity'."

Syaoran let out a long, hard laugh. Even though he never talked to his mother, nor had he seen her face to face in three years, he knew his mother must have had to see a shrink after hearing a Li speak about 'embarrassing' publicity. After all, he was sure his behavior almost drove her to one. "Did-did she," he paused to laugh again, reliving old memories, "shun you from her presence?"

Meiling laughed. "You bet. 'I'm not worthy of this family, blah, blah, go reflect on what you've done, blah, blah, don't set foot in my home until you've set things straight'."

Syaoran leaned back. "So, does this bring us to the present moment?"

Meiling nodded. "Yeah. I crashed—uh, extended a visit—for a few days with Daidoji, Eriol calls, we leave to meet up with him...you know the rest."

Syaoran mock toasted her with his scotch. "You've pissed her off almost as much as I have," taking a long gulp of the liquid after.

"No—when you bring Sarah home for her to meet, that's going to be the ultimate disgrace." Meiling readied a cloth napkin in front of her face. Paper just wouldn't do it.

Syaoran spit out all of the scotch out of his mouth, in Meiling's direction. "WHAT?!"

"Well, you have to bring her home sometime," Meiling figured wiping the side of her face. She finished and rolled her eyes at his still confused look. "Look, you love her right—"

"I do not love her!"

"Of course you don't." Meiling answered, taking his scotch away. She didn't have any more cloth napkins. "So, have you kissed her yet?"

"Meiling!"

"No? Well, I'll be dammed!," Meiling said hitting her fist to the table for emphasis. "You can't really love her without kissing her!"

Syaoran shook his head. "Me and Sarah...we're not..together. Understand?"

Meiling smiled wickedly. "So, how about buying me a drink?"

Syaoran paused for a moment. "Weren't we just..talking about...me and Sarah?"

"Well, since you brought it up! Now, if there's anything you'd like to say—"

"No, no! There's nothing I'd like to say."

Meiling shrugged knowingly, because, after all, she did know better. Nobody knew a Li better than a Li. And this Meiling Li knew the Syaoran Li better than any other Li. "If you insist—"

"And that's the wonderful thing about invites, Meiling. You can leave whenever you want and not feel the least bit guilty."

And with that, Syaoran Li left Meiling Li to her to ponder the conversations she made in their conversation.


Yamazacki sat beside a police officer in the Head Police Station of Finland. Or the HPSF. "You sure, Mr. Takashi, that they will be coming here?"

"I'm sure."

"How much sure?"

"Pretty sure. I knew them well. They are looking for the fastest route out of Russia," Yamazacki snapped.

"And they would try and come to Finland?"

"Do you know a closer country closer to St. Petersburg?"

"It's been 48 hours. All of our boarder stations are on top alert. We have found nothing. Maybe you could tell the HPSF your next best guess?"

Yamazacki growled. "What are you implying?"

The Finnish man jumped. "That maybe the girl they had with them meant something?"

"Girl?"

"Yes. The brunette."

Yamazacki leaned back in his chair. "You think she isn't some prostitute, then?"

The short man stood up and shifted the weight on either leg. "It may be something to go on..."

"Maybe he's in love?," Yamazacki laughed out loud. Syaoran..in love? The thought was too unbearable to contemplate. "On second though...maybe not. She might be another partner? Or maybe a relative? No—scratch that. All Li's have that lightly tanned skin, dark eyes and either brown or black hair. She was too....fair."

"Could she be a client of Mr. Li's?"

Yamazacki glanced at the police man. "Maybe...now that I think about it, her jacket didn't seem too rich-looking. Syaoran does forge government papers for the poor." He shook his head—whoever she was, Syaoran Li wouldn't stick with her unless she was important.

"So, should we set up surveillance in other countries?"

Yamazacki leaned back. "Defiantly."


"Eriol?"

Eriol looked up at the approaching girl. He was seated on a window bench in the cabin that he was to share with Syaoran—and had been sitting that way since the train paused at a re-staking station. He felt a smile tug on the corners of his cheeks. "Tomoyo. To what do I owe the honors?"

Tomoyo stood in front of him awkwardly. Stupid pride! Go away! "It's all mine," she assured the man in front of her.

"Come sit; the stars have just come out and the train has stopped momentarily."

"Thank you." Tomoyo took a seat beside Eriol.

"I assume Meiling and Syaoran are having a nice, family catch up? And poor Sarah looked positively worn down—in bed no doubt? She is? Well, then I take great comfort that you have resided in me for company. Flattered, I am."

Tomoyo felt her pride grow stronger. "The pleasures all yours." Calm down, Tomoyo. He didn't mean any offense towards you.

Eriol chuckled before turning his gaze back towards the window. "See those three stars that connect together up there? The ones really close?"

Tomoyo leaned towards Eriol a bit. "I think..."

Eriol smiled. "That's the left side of the constellation Virgo. The other stars are pretty far away. Can you see it? It's supposed to be a 'virgin maiden'. He paused looking at it—the stars that the ancients connected together we so beautiful; so insightful. He moved closer to Tomoyo taking her hand in his as he used it to connect the sparking diamonds in the sky.

"It's the second biggest constellation in the sky. Part of the zodiac. See how the bottom has almost disappeared under the horizon? It's been a month and a half since the sun has been in its spot during the day," his voice murmmered in her ear. "It was said she was named after a goddess...but the religion is uncertain." He traced her hand in his up in a perfect arch to meet the top star, then back down to meet the bottom one.

"Some believe it was named after the Egyptian goddess Isis. Or has its roots in Greek and Roman mythology to represent all that's pure and innocent. Others hold true that it was named after the goddess Inanna of an ancient civilization recently discovered. She was said to be not only the Queen of Heaven but beautiful, polite, and the goddess of the most holy feeling in life: love."

Tomoyo felt a small smile crawl up her neck; but it stopped there. Her pride and proper training wouldn't allow it any further. She saw a young girl form in the sky just as Eriol dropped her hand as the train began to move again.

She had been paying more attention than she thought. She glanced back up at the window, but the train had moved more than she thought. Only the last three left stars were visible.

She looked back down at her hands. "It's my...zodiac sign. The Virgo." But, something inside told her that Eriol was already well aware.

Eriol smiled. "Such a fitting zodiac for such a beautiful young lady. The goddess of love."

Tomoyo nodded and shuffled over so they weren't so close.

Eriol's eyes twinkled. "Am I that contagious?," he whispered.

Tomoyo looked up and something inside of her went on fire. And it was more than pride—that she was sure of. "I-I-Eriol...—"

And at that exact moment Meiling Li decided to enter the room with, what Tomoyo would consider the forever infamous line of:

"I have the most brilliant idea!"