Disclaimer: I DON'T own Cardcaptor Sakura! But I do own the story line!
Main Characters:
Aris: The witch of the castle who works directly for the queen (Sonomi)
Artemis: The twin brother of Aris, he is the healer of the castle.
Tomoyo: The princess
Sakura: The princess's best friend and second-cousin.
Eriol: The mage of the castle. He does readings of the future and is good friends with almost everyone in the castle.
Akira: The prince of a neighbouring country (Drejimn)
Syaoran: Akira's personal servant
(Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko are just friends of Tomoyo and Sakura; they don't appear that often in the story)
Web of Fate
Chapter Five
"Sakura," Tomoyo patted Sakura's hand gently as they walked together past the courtyard and through the large double mahogany doors, "is there something bothering you? You seemed very tense today."
Sakura smiled and shook her head, "Daijoubu, Tomoyo-chan. It's nothing!"
Tomoyo sighed as they reached the end of the dim sunlit hall. Widely varnished steps met their eyes and majestically curved upward, adjoining itself with a maze of rooms and corridors. Rich stained-glass windows filtered the sun's rays, changing it's colour to soft translucent tints. For now, the halls were empty, the two girls were alone. Their footsteps created long and hollow echoes, bouncing off the newly washed walls.
Tonight was the banquet. Longley awaited since the day the Suzuhara family arrived. Servants were out of sight as they were busily setting up decorations and cleaning the castle, scrubbing and waxing the floors until it easily reflected their own image. Nobles took care of pampering themselves, ready for an enjoyable and elegant night.
Tomoyo pushed Sakura through her chamber doors. "I must be going now," the princess smiled, "mother wants me to be well acquainted with the Drejimn royal family." Sakura sat comfortably on her bed as Tomoyo continued, "Don't sleep too long, and careful not to wrinkle your dress ne?" She left and the door clicked shut. Silence.
The sun was setting, and it churned shadowy colours into the sky. Perhaps this was Sakura's favourite time of the day, when everything settled down and became calm, getting ready to rest for the night. Sakura leaned across her window sill, and looked out over the castle's property.
She closed her eyes and went through a small hidden stash of memories in the back of her mind, recalling the day Eriol first sat Tomoyo and herself down to learn magic. That special day was full of wonders and surprises, even if all they did was concentrate on finding their own auras.
Tomoyo, being a fast learner, quickly excelled at the ancient art. While she herself gradually got better every day. The use of magic was probably one of the few things Sakura was especially good at, and maybe one day, she would even outrank Tomoyo.
"Sakura-san."
Eriol smiled at the honey haired girl, "Your power is different from the princess. Tomoyo-san's ability is to heal the hearts of her people, but yours, Sakura-san, can become something great... something totally wonderful and unearthly..."
Sakura yawned, she was tired. A little nap wouldn't be so bad about now…
And that's exactly what she did. Her eyelids fell over her eyes and the darkness surrounded her, welcoming her into its gentle arms.
As the girl slept, a faint buzz rang around the castle. Sakura didn't notice a thing during her deep slumber, nor did she know of the nostalgic feeling that crept up her body as she rested. If you had looked closely, the halls ran with strings that shimmered silver when hit by the sun. They ran along the floors, the walls, the ceiling, all gathered together going to one destination. Her body was in a cocoon of invisible strands, it folded over her, weaving itself into a cage of magic. She was in the middle, unaware and ignorant.
The clocked ticked on, minute after minute, hour after hour and soon the spell of sleep wore away, leaving its victims to wake. Sakura's eyes opened, she brought her hand to her face to rub away the drowsiness that still lingered. As she pulled her arm up, it felt stiff, restricted. Something was holding her back. She stared at her arm, at first there was nothing there, but suddenly she saw it – her arm was completely wrapped with sticky threads, they pulled against her body, holding her down on her bed.
Sakura hissed, not this again… the threads, why wouldn't they leave her alone!
'This happened this morning,' she grimaced, 'and this afternoon. I won't let it happen again! Whoever created these is trying to hold me back from something!' Sakura felt extremely frustrated, she forced herself off of her bed and rolled heavily against the floor.
………………………
Aris smirked, her puppet was trying to get away! The small model struggled, trying to unhook itself from the strings of magic. She pulled harshly against it. "Lady Sakura, stop trying to free yourself, your feeble attempts are failing to work anyway!" she laughed.
A small knock rapped on her door. Aris frowned, she knew who it was, "Hurry up and come in brother. Stop wasting my time!"
Artemis slide through the doorway, he looked at her with dull black eyes and sat down in an armchair, crossing his legs. "What are you doing?" he asked looking at her newest plaything, "Don't tell me that you haven't outgrown playing with dolls."
Aris glared at him, "Be quiet or leave."
Artemis amusedly leaned forward on the chair. He gave her a smug grin, "No."
"Brother, are you trying to aggravate me?" Aris demanded sharply, "I am in no mood to deal with you now."
"Actually, Aris, I was wondering what happened to you."
Aris frowned, "Nothing happened to me, stop trying to speak in riddles. What are you getting at?"
Artemis raised his hand to examine the nails, "You seemed to have lost all self-respect, playing with an insignificant girl like that. Do not think that I can't feel your magic. You may be able to hide it from others, but not me." He looked at her seriously, "You are going to attract attention with your little antics."
"I am not stupid Artemis. Do you think I am toying with that girl just because she is too cheerful?" Aris snapped sourly, "No, I wouldn't waste my time like that. I sense that she has an incredible amount of magical power, and I want it. One day, she might be strong enough to detect what we are trying to do here. I will not like her to do that!"
"So if you kill her now, she will no longer be of a threat, is that right, sister?"
Aris nodded.
"You disappoint me Aris!" Artemis laughed, "You are being extremely careless. What will the nobles do when they see the dead corpse of the girl? I understand if you want to enjoy yourself in the process, but you are letting your guard down!"
Aris ignored him and tightened her hold on the puppet.
Artemis rolled his eyes, "Seeing as you do not want to continue talking, why don't we change the subject of our conversation then?" He sneered, "I heard you've become the castle jester! The queen doesn't call on you for advice anymore, instead, you entertain her with small magic tricks! How did you manage to fall so low?"
Artemis got up from his seat and marched forward towards his twin sister, "I hear you will be the main attraction tonight, and at the rate you are going, this kingdom will soon be out of our grasps."
Aris fought down an urge to curse at her brother, why does he choose to continue to taunt and pester her so! Does he not see that she has everything under control? That arrogant fool, she hated him, even if they were siblings.
…………………….
Sakura whimpered, she could see it all clearly now, the threads, the magic, the curse. Her room disappeared underneath the blankets of sticky webs, and she was all alone. Why couldn't anyone hear her calls? Why didn't they see her struggle? She gasped as her bonds tightened and threw her towards the centre of the room. Her arms were held back and she felt something coil against her neck, looping around it until it formed a tight knot.
Slowly, the magic started to tighten, it pressed against her skin, beginning to block out air. Sakura sharply gasped for oxygen, as she frantically clawed at her neck. She could feel the thread, but in reality it wasn't really there. Unknown to Sakura, whatever Aris did to the magical doll, it happened to her. She was a helpless puppet.
Sakura's breaths became shorter and forced, 'I can't breathe!' she cried silently. Her neck throbbed and stung, soon, the magic would be able to draw blood as it slowly sliced through her skin. 'I don't want to die…' Tears formed in her eyes, blurring her vision of the room around her. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears fall down.
"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" she screamed in pain.
Suddenly, everything stopped and her eyes clouded up with fear. The sound of her heartbeats pounded heavily in her ears.
Ba-bum
Ba-bum
Ba-bum
'I can hear my heart,' Sakura thought weakly, 'the sound of my life, the sound of my existence… if it should stop, then I will cease to exist.'
Ba-bum
Ba-bum
Ba-bum
….............................
"Can you feel it, Lady Sakura?" Aris's voice was low, "Your heart, it is fading. And soon, your downfall will bring my rise to power."
Artemis watched skeptically as his sister stood before him, in the centre of her own world of void and nothingness, pulling the strings of a puppet. Her eyes flashed clearly with madness and insanity. Slowly, her arms tugged the threads apart, squeezing the doll's neck tighter, and tighter and tighter…
……………………
She was weak, her whole body was tired. Her heart was almost dead and it was closely drawing her along to the pits of everlasting fire. This was not the way she wanted to die, this was not the way her life was supposed to end.
But she was not dead yet, perhaps she would be able to live. Time had stopped, striving to keep her on the thin strings of life. She was drowning in sounds and echoes of her own heartbeats. It was still beating loudly, unwilling to stop - she wouldn't allow it to. Sakura glared at her surroundings, 'Leave me alone…' her gaze softened and she closed her eyes, 'Surely, everything will be alright…'
Something dominant in Sakura's heart finally escaped out of its long confinement. A new dormant power was released after many years. Light burst through the room, lighting every corner with a soft pink glow. Sakura's eyes rolled back, as her body arched upwards, letting her being float in the air. Through the walls, small infestations and rodents scuttled away, afraid of this alien light.
……………………..
Aris felt a shock of power surge through her body, it felt like lightning, attacking her from the rains of misery at the most unexpected time. Her doll went limp, floating in the air on its own accord. She noticed a dull pink barrier surround the doll, pushing her threads back, forcing her to grit her teeth with exhaustion.
Why was the girl fighting back? Useless brat, doesn't she know when to give up when her time was done? Aris pulled against the magical barrier, trying uselessly to squeeze her way through it.
The girl was fighting back unconsciously, and yet, the power was so strong. Her greed for magic instantly took over her body, discarding anymore caution, her threads mercilessly attacked the shield.
Artemis snapped one eye open from his resting state, Aris had gone insane. He sighed, one of these days his sister will be the death of him. He yawned, stretching out his senses for any approaching being. Aris was lucky he was there. Because of him, nobody with magic would sense what she was doing. Artemis smirked, he would need to think of a way she was going to repay him. Perhaps he should visit her more in his free time, he was sure Aris enjoyed his company anyway. If she wasn't already completely insane now, he was sure she would be later.
Suddenly the sound of footsteps rang through the halls, it was coming closer with every step. Artemis looked at Aris, her chamber was the only room in the tower, and surely whoever was coming, was coming for her. He got up for the third time and walked towards his sister, waving his hand in front of her face.
No response.
"Aris, wake up," he said mildly, "someone is coming, and I suggest you better stop this insanity soon. You'll get us both caught."
Still no response.
He started to frown, the footsteps were getting louder. Artemis sighed, he had no other choice. He reached his hand above the doll, his fingertips just touching its head. Honestly, it was a pity to break such a work of art, but what else could he do? A thin blade appeared in front of his hand, and swiftly, he brought it down on the doll's head, quickly severing the wood in half.
Aris screeched when her threads disappeared and the cut wood fell to the ground. Her fingers were bleeding from exerting too much pressure on them and her hands now hung limp at her sides. She glared at her brother and didn't think twice about the pain in her hands. She curled her fists and struck him hard on the face.
"You!" she cried, "How dare you stop me! Lady Sakura was almost dead, and you stopped me!" She couldn't believe it, the nerve of her brother! How dare he interfere!
Artemis stood calmly in his spot, ignoring the fact that his younger sister had just hit him. "Aris," he said, deathly calm, "can you not hear it, or have your ears malfunctioned? Someone is coming, probably a servant sent by the queen to look for you. Imagine what would have happened if they saw you. You were too absorbed by your greed to even notice."
He didn't think Aris heard a word he said, but never the less, turned around and marched towards her wall. He was leaving, there was no use in staying here. He raised his palm in front of the stones and pushed his body through the structure. Before he completely transported himself through the hidden portal in his sister's wall, he turned back to see Aris trembling with anger, "You will thank me later." He said, and then left.
Aris was left standing by herself, anger, disbelief, and annoyance rushed through her senses. There was nothing to say, she just stood immobile in her spot, shaking with conflicting emotions.
Aris glared at the severed doll. If she herself had split the puppet, Sakura would be dead at this very moment. The girl's body would have been found in a bloody, and distorted state. But no, Artemis was the one who destroyed it. The princess's cousin should be thankful. Artemis was not the one who had spread his own blood on the figure, he wasn't even the one who spent hours carving the doll! In his hands, the puppet was totally useless, and now, it was broken.
Suddenly she heard someone knocking on her chamber doors. She looked at the handle venomously as it slowly turned and unlocked the door, letting her visitor enter. One of the queen's ladies in waiting walked into the room and curtsied towards the superior.
"What do you want girl?" Aris snapped, giving the girl an icy look. She didn't care if she was being rude to the young lady in waiting. She didn't even care if she scared her. She looked distastefully at the cowering girl, lashing out her anger upon her.
"T-the queen would l-like to s-see you m-miss…"
"When?" Aris demanded.
"N-now miss…"
Aris cried out in frustration and brought her fist down onto the desk. "Now? She expects me to come now? Tell the queen that I'm busy!"
"B-but miss, the queen would like to discuss with you about tonight's banquet!"
"Well tell her I'm unable to speak to her at the moment!"
"But miss! The queen is waiting for you in the grand hall!"
Aris growled at the annoying girl. She stormed out of the room and shoved the lady in waiting aside.
………………………..
Sakura stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Her body felt heavy and broken, she was sprawled on the floor. The girl painfully pulled herself in front of a narrow mirror sitting on the side of her room and looked wearily at herself.
The dress was wrinkled, her hair was messy and a deep red scar ran around the bottom of her neck. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was a blinding flash of light, and then everything went dark. Although her body felt dead, her heart was beating with a new rekindled fire. Somehow, she felt new – reborn. A feeling of renewed strength shot through her being, it encouraged her to move, ignoring the sharp pain of her stiff muscles.
The banquet was in an hour, and she needed to change. She looked as if she just came out of a torture room and that would start to attract attention… one thing she didn't need. Though her magic was still weak, Sakura could feel a faint evil aura wandering around the castle. She was sure whoever wanted to kill her would be attending the festivities tonight, and surely, she would find out who it was.
She slowly changed into a simple green gown with golden embroidery at the bottom of the hem. The designs outlined simple patterns of vines and leaves, curling within each other to the middle of the skirt.
Sakura sighed and went towards the mirror. She stared at her reflection again looking slightly disgusted at the deep crimson mark. How was she going to hide the scar? It was clearly visible, and not even the neck of the dress was tall enough to cover it. Sakura frowned. Her eyes wandered over her room until they met with a basket of ribbons. She pulled out a matching piece of lace and tied it securely over the mark. Nobody would see it now – hopefully.
………………………………
Author's notes:
okie, I hope I gave all of you an small idea of Sakura's magic by now… sweatdrop a lot of people asked me if Sakura had magic…. Well now you guys know ne? :)
I'm
sorry it took me so long to update.... i had such a writer's block....
this whole chapter seemed so.... repeatitive..... if anyone has any
suggestions, please don't be afraid to tell em to me!! FLAMES ARE
ALLOWED!!!
Rapscallion: thanks for reviewing! i appreciated it!
Mariko:
hehe, i'm glad you like the ideas in my fic! please keep on reviewing!
i'm sry that i didn't update as fast as you would have liked!
sweatdrop
lilsaki: glad you like it!
Wolf Jade: XD i'll make sakura find 'the boy' very soon...... HOPEFULLY next chapter..... but if not.... soon......
ss-cherryblossom: and again, sakura and syaoran will meet hopefully in two chapters, sometimes when i start typing, the plot just goes really wonky and new ideas gets added while the old ones get pushed back....
Anyway, minna-san, IF I'M DRAGGING THE PLOT TOO LONG PLEASE TELL MEEEE! i don't want to turn the fic into something boring and a waste of time! please tell me what you think! thanks! and don't forget to review!!!! breathes
