Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. Clamp does unfortunately. I do not own the clothes either. Those are also from various Clamp mangas, and a few from Arina Tanemura as well. All that I do own are my ideas.
Enjoy!
Cobalt Rose
A Month in the Courts of Li
News of a Visit RoyaleTomoyo brushed out her dark violet-black hair, humming to herself. Turning around from her vanity, she paused a moment to take in the scene behind her that had caused her to put down her brush. All her friends were behind her, in the Chambers Royale, as they liked to call her elaborate set of rooms in the palace.
Duchess Rika was laughing at a joke while she fixed Countess Meiling's hair. Naoko, the daughter of the court scribe, and a Lady in her own right, was spinning one of her greatest tales yet to the young Countess Chiharu. Tomoyo laughed at the little stuffed toys flying everywhere as well. Though it was a hard kept secret, it was true. Their little circle of friends was also a small group of powerful mages, another reason why they were such close friends.
"Tomoyo-chan!" With a crash, her sister, Princess Sakura, dashed into the room, followed by her own Guardian, Kero. In a second, the room was quiet. It had to be something very important to have Sakura's Guardian out in the open where anyone could see him. "Can you believe it?!" she cried. "It's not fair! Mother's sending us off to the Li Kingdom to get MARRIED!!!" Anyone standing outside the chambers would have thought there was an explosion from the collective shriek of "WHAT?!" coming from the room filled with well-bred ladies.
An hour, many more shouts, and two bottles of smelling salts later, Tomoyo finally managed to get the whole story. "So you're saying that Mother and Father had arranged us to visit the Li Kingdom when we were sixteen so that we could spend a month at their court to keep peace between the two kingdoms?" It was an age-old tradition between allied kingdoms to have the princesses of one kingdom visit the court of the other so that peace could be kept, and it was true, marriage had often times been the result in other countries, though not between theirs and the Li kingdom, but there was no such thought of marriage for either herself or Sakura at the moment. "Don't worry Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said reassuringly. "Mother and Father didn't say anything about marriage right? They only said we needed to spend a month at the Li court. We'll make it." She paused, "and who did Father say was going?"
Sakura took a deep breath. "You're going of course," she said, "You're the Crown Princess and heiress to the throne. I'm going, and so are Chiharu- chan and Meiling-chan."
Chiharu looked up, her deep hazel braids, quivering on each side of her head. "Why am I going?" she asked, puzzled. "You and Tomoyo-chan are princesses, so it's imperative that you go, but I'm just a Countess!"
Tomoyo shook her head. "No Chi-chan, it's most likely because you're partly royal blood. I mean, just because you're a bit farther removed from the family than Mei-chan is, it's not likely that Father would leave you out of the traditional trip." She sighed a bit unhappily and her own Guardian, Selene, fluttered to her shoulder. Stroking the dark fur, a purple so deep that it seemed black, she smiled. "Never mind," she remarked to Selene. "Sakura-chan, Chi-chan, Mei-chan, I want to have an audience with Father and Mother, but I think you should all pack. I have a feeling this trip is going to be sooner than any of us could imagine."
Sakura and the others nodded, for when Tomoyo 'had a feeling' it almost always was right.
With Selene on her shoulder, Tomoyo walked softly down the corridors to the main reception hall. The halls were empty and this allowed her time to speak with her Guardian. "Selene, I don't like this," she mused softly. "Sakura is most likely right. Mother and Father want us to go to the Li Kingdom, not just for peace, but also for marriage." She paused before speaking again. "Then again, I might just be reading to deeply into this," she told the little cat figured Guardian.
Reaching the doors to the reception hall, she paused. Selene laughed softly. "You're always so big on precautions. I guess that's a good thing though. I'm sure Sakura at least might have been caught; Cerberus can be so careless sometimes." She flew lightly down to the crescent-moon shaped pendant key that Tomoyo presented to her. With a soft glow of amethyst hued light, the little Guardian became an intricate feline design on the pendant. Sometimes I think we should do this more often she stated in Tomoyo's mind. It's much easier when we talk this way and less likely for us to get caught. Tomoyo smiled. That may be true, she replied, but I'm sure you'd like to come out and enjoy the outside world, even if the pendant can bring almost whatever you wish to you. She felt Selene nod in her mind, but if she was going to say something more, she didn't get the chance, for one of the guards opened the doors and she was ushered inside.
Tomoyo paused while the doors behind her were closed and then walked up to the dais where her parents were seated. As Crown Princess there were some advantages. No one was going to bother them and they were totally alone. "Come up Tomoyo-chan," called her father, and she did so obligingly. A large pair of lavender tinged wings sprouted from her shoulders and it was mere seconds before she was at the dais that would have taken a good deal of walking to get up the stairs. Her father laughed at the display.
"How is the coven," Nadeshiko, her mother, teased. Her parents knew of their powers and her mother often teased them that they were just like a small coven of witches, being all females. Tomoyo blushed pink. Her family and the "coven" were the only ones who could make her blush, and her mother had a special knack that none of the others had.
"Naoko-chan has been telling Chiharu-chan stories again, but she's found it harder and harder to get Chiharu-chan to believe them, and blames it on Chiharu-chan's brothers. It seems they've picked up Naoko-chan's love of telling stories and they do it constantly to Chiharu-chan. She's gotten quite good at picking up lies from truth, no matter how cunningly Naoko- chan tries to hide the facts. It seems Rika-chan is quite happy these days. I'm wondering if it was anything to do with Sir Tereda-san. Meiling- chan is quite happy practicing her magic. It seems she and Syrinx have been practicing, but don't tell Meiling-chan I caught her." Tomoyo laughed along with her parents at this, then continued her recount of her friends. "And Sakura-chan was very surprised at the mention of the trip to the Li Kingdom. We all were for that matter."
King Fujitaka sighed. "My daughter," he began, but Tomoyo shook her head. "It's okay father. We were just surprised, that's all. Actually, I think it might be a good idea for us all to get out." Her father laughed. "My Tomoyo-chan, so understanding of her father, sometimes I wonder what I would have done without you." He motioned for her to sit down. "So Tomoyo- chan, I will tell you about this trip. You will be leaving tomorrow and though the trip itself would only take a week, it would probably take you and the coven only three days to reach the palace. Since you will be gone for a month, we sent the maids to your rooms to help you arrange your wardrobes. Your Guardians are to go with you, of course, but other than that, we really couldn't spare much more than a small retinue. I think it would be best if you packed now. You will be leaving early tomorrow."
Tomoyo smiled at her father and mother, bowed politely, and dismissed herself the way she came, flying down to the doors by way of large, lavender tinged wings.
"What did Father say?" asked an anxious Sakura when she had returned to the Chambers Royale.
"We're leaving tomorrow," Tomoyo replied with a smile. "Don't worry Sakura- chan, it'll be fun." Selene popped out of the pendant, her light violet fairy-like wings fluttering. "Now, why don't we pack?"
Tomoyo pulled the small pendant key from under her shirt. In a whirl of magic it changed into a long staff with a crescent moon with wings at one end. Pointing it at her wardrobes, she directed several rows of clothing to fly about into trunks and suitcases. Another flick of the staff brought her Book of Moonlight into the room. It floated above her as she brought other things that she needed, jewelry and toiletries and books as well as magical artifacts, into the trunks prepared by the maids. She ordered them up nicely, different things going into different trunks. Then, opening the Book of the Moon, she shrunk one of the trunks so that it fit easily into the palm of her hand.
Finally, her magic working done, she let her magic retreat. The staff returned to being a pendant and the Book landed softly into her hands.
"Sugoi!!" cried Sakura. Imitating Tomoyo, she got her magic to do just as Tomoyo's did, though it was a little harder for her because she was in Tomoyo's rooms. The sound of footsteps caused them to hurriedly put away their Books as their Guardians fell limp like stuffed animals. A tall, pale skinned man with dark, blue-lavender eyes and long black hair entered the room. His hair, tied at the base of his neck and trailing down to his knees, was dark black. His bangs were unruly and fell slightly over his deep, blue-gray-lavender eyes, and all in all, he was very handsome.
"Good evening, Ion," Tomoyo greeted her other Guardian. He bowed to her. "Majesty, I am here to pick up your things." Tomoyo sighed. "Ion, please call me Tomoyo." She had tried to break him of the habit of calling her 'majesty,' but it hadn't worked very well. Ion nodded, "Yes Tomoyo-sama." Tomoyo sighed again. At least it was an improvement. She directed her things to Ion as Yue entered the room. He took Sakura's things and both silent Guardians left.
She changed into one of the nightgowns that she hadn't had packed for the trip, bade Sakura goodnight, and snuggled into her bed. Selene, hard to distinguish from the dark of the night unless you searched for her violet eyes, wings, or ears, curled up next to her and the two fell asleep. Outside, sleepless Ion guarded the chambers from anyone who could harm the Princess.
The Next Day
A ray of golden sunshine fell over Tomoyo's eyes, causing her to blink rapidly. It was the day of their departure and she was anxious to leave. Unsure of how to dress, she had consulted Ion, and was wearing his suggestion, a simple lavender gown, tied with a deeper hued sash. The gown was sleeveless, but she wore a pale lavender shirt with long sleeves under it. The dress accented her royal aura and her slim, petit form, flowing out and swishing pleasantly around her ankles. Her ensemble was completed by a pretty, simple pair of brown boots, sensible and comfortable. She knew full well that she wouldn't be walking but instead riding a spacious carriage, but she had ordered her mare Atlantis to be saddled for the trip as well, and she insisted on riding part way.
The carriage that held the four girls was quite an interesting contraption. Designed by one of their court inventors, it was a lot larger than a normal carriage. Anyone looking at it might have thought it was just an abnormally large carriage, but the girls knew better. The interior was magically modified to be even larger than it seemed, and the roof was high enough so that anyone could walk around without bumping their heads, even Yue and Ion, much less the petit princesses and their relatives. Much of the carriage interior was raised mattresses with cushions and pillows everywhere.
Tomoyo lay curled up in a little nest of pillows and blankets, Selene at her usual perch on her left shoulder, reading the book in Tomoyo's hands. Tomoyo on the other hand was watching the forest outside pass by, the light breeze ruffling her dark hair. Her boots were laid neatly by the door of the carriage. Sakura and Meiling were playing a board game with their Guardians, but from Chiharu and her Guardian, Teiron, who looked somewhat like a stuffed toy quetzal with a long tail, all light, cloud blue in color, came a strong aura of magic. Curious, Tomoyo walked over on bare feet with Selene on her shoulder.
"Chi-chan?" she asked, slipping back into the shortened forms of their names that they'd created as children, "What are you doing?"
Chiharu looked up, blushing guiltily. "No-nothing Tomoyo-chan..." The look she received brooked no argument. "I'm just playing around with my magic really, trying to see what the people of the Li Kingdom are like."
Tomoyo laughed. "Why didn't I think of something like that?" She sat down next to Chiharu, opened her Book as well, and pulled out one of her Moon cards. "Why don't we combine our powers?" she asked. "That way neither of us will be too tired if we hold the spell for long periods of time." Both picked a card and, using a skill that their mage-master, Kaho Mizuki, had taught them, brought forth their magic without having to use their staffs which were large at the best of times and would not fit, even in their spacious carriage.
The sudden burst of magic soon had Sakura and Meiling abandoning their game, Kero, munching on a cookie from Sakura's bag following them. Meiling's Guardian, Ladon, a shining ruby colored, sharp eyed, feline like Selene, though more masculine, swung from one of her pigtails, hanging down to her waist. Tomoyo and Chiharu had managed to create a miniature pool of water for scrying. Just as the four other members of the royal retinue got there, the carriage lurched, sending Meiling headfirst into to pool, along with Ladon. Water splashed in a gigantic wave, soaking both Tomoyo and Chiharu to the skin, as well as both their Guardians. Sakura laughed delightedly along with the others, but just as Meiling managed to get out of the deep pool that had been created, the carriage lurched again, and with a slip, Sakura fell into the pool.
Tomoyo sat in a small pool formed by the water dripping off her, trying not to laugh and failing miserably. A spell that they had learned long ago and applied to their Books kept them from getting wet, but it gave them no such protection. Reaching over, Tomoyo took a card out from her deck and soon the carriage interior was as clean as could be. "This time," Sakura remarked, "I think we should try using a mirror." The girls laughed and then started on their task in earnest.
Unfortunately, they had little time for magic working, because the procession didn't mean they had nothing to do. Soon, Ion entered and explained about the whole trip. "You should all know that there is a tradition between our kingdom and the other that the unwed females of the royal bloodline should visit their court to maintain the peace between the two countries. This was always to happen in the sixteenth year of the Crown Princess' life," he nodded to Tomoyo. "There is another part of this story though. There is a reason why our royal family has nothing but princesses and their royal family nothing but princes. Long ago, the powerful mage Clow Reed cast a spell on the two kingdoms who wished to be united. That doesn't mean that either Tomoyo-sama or Sakura-san will be forced to marry any of the princes. Clow Reed specifically added into his spell that the princesses and princes were to be given the free choice on whether or not they wished to marry, and so far, neither of the two families has agreed to a match."
"So... we aren't pressured into marrying or anything?" asked Sakura tentatively.
"No Sakura-san," Ion answered. "A princess can decline any hand she wishes. Indeed, it once happened that a princess was pressured into marrying, but the ceremony is performed in a temple that Clow built, and his statue tells whether or not their love is true. If it isn't, then the princess does not marry the prince. Do not worry Sakura-san; it is less pressure on you. The only person who will have anything to worry about is Tomoyo-sama. As Crown Princess, it falls to her shoulders whether or not the two kingdoms are truly joined." Tomoyo sighed. She hadn't expected something this elaborate, but she was also relieved. If marriage was the underlying reason, other than peace, for their visit, then she was glad that she would not be forced to marry someone she did not love completely.
"Thank you Ion," she smiled. "I would like to ride outside now, if the others didn't mind." Ion nodded and halted the carriage. Tomoyo, accompanied by Selene, swung herself sidesaddle, onto Atlantis. She waved to her friends and younger sister back in the carriage. 'We'll continue to tinker with the scrying ok?' Sakura mouthed to her. Tomoyo giggled and nodded before turning her attention to the road.
Four Days Later
In the small snatches of time they had managed to get between their continued lessons, because even on the road there was no stopping lessons, Ion's discussions about the legend of the two kingdoms and their entwined fates, and their own small duties, for they had to bear gifts to the Li court and the princes, they finally finished their scrying mirror. When the question of who was to keep it arose, Chiharu had grinned and duplicated the mirror so they each had one to carry around. Not to be outdone, Meiling placed a spell on them so that they would grow and shrink to the holder's needs. Tomoyo contributed by connecting the sight the mirror projected with the things that the holder wished to see, and Sakura spelled them to work like an ordinary mirror when they were not being used to scry. Tomoyo grinned at their joint handiwork, pulled out some lengths of braided cord, and attached one to each mirror, for identification. The cord, though they had started out pure white, instantly became the color of the owner's aura.
Now, Tomoyo was curled up in her little nest of pillows and blankets where she'd slept every night, gazing into the mirror. She had caught the Li family eating dinner and so examined them at her leisure. The king seemed powerful and stern, but kind to his family, and she liked him on first sight. His dark brown hair, hardly showing any grey, fell over his eyes and shook when he laughed. The queen also gave a powerful aura of magic, and it seemed she commanded a great respect from her sons. Directing the mirror closer, she observed the faces of the princes. The eldest, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, was pale like his mother, with her blue-black hair. His deep blue eyes held hints of mischief, as well as polite kindness.
Tomoyo decided he looked kind and polite and princely, but when he suddenly smiled, mysteriously and mischievously, she knew that the eldest would be someone interesting; someone who could be her friend. Moving her attentions to the boy across from him, she noted his hair, which resembled his mother's in shade, but his father's in unruliness. He seemed no older than the eldest prince, but he smiled just as much as the prince, who was obviously his friend as well as his brother. Still, she decided she liked the smile of the eldest prince better. It held mysteries that she was more than willing to explore.
The next two princes were almost identical except for the slight difference in hair color and the color of their eyes. One, had deep hazel eyes, warm and yet closed. He scowled often at his dark-haired older brother, but it was plain to see that his scowls were ones of sibling rivalry and friendship. Tomoyo decided she liked this dark-brown haired, seventeen year old looking prince as well. His twin had lighter hair and amber eyes so light that they seemed clear and almost yellow. His eyes were more open, but also deadly, and this mysterious aura was puzzling. Farther down the table was more of the royal guard, lads in their twenties and no one of much interest. She went back to watching the royal family eat, and felt almost certain that the dark haired prince had glanced up through the mirror, but she added more intensity to her concealment charm and he looked away.
She cleared her mirror and called Sakura, Meiling, and Chiharu to her with an idea. "We were supposed to make gifts for the royal family right? Well, I think it would be best if the four of us created our own gifts for the four princes. We aren't forced to marry, so we could at least try to be friends. Let us each pick one prince, watch him, and create a gift that the prince will like." Sakura clapped her hands. "Let's choose them right now!" she cried, and the four girls looked intently over the dinner scene, which had not yet finished.
After a few minutes, they decided. Tomoyo was to take the eldest prince, Chiharu the one across from him. Meiling decided she wanted to follow the prince with the light amber eyes, and Sakura agreed, for she was curious about the darker haired one. Tomoyo smiled. Turning back to her own corner, she began to watch the prince once more.
It took only until midday the next day for Tomoyo to figure out what was the best gift for the eldest. She was surprised at his powerful aura, and found that he frequented the library a great deal. His magic powers astounded her, but it seemed that the prince liked the more obscure spells as well as their stories, and it frustrated him, having them scattered over many different volumes, so hard to have all at once. Tomoyo smiled sweetly down at him and decided to make it a bit easier. Over the few days left, she collected spells and their stories from all of the cards that she had, also using Sakura's cards, Meiling's cards, and Chiharu's cards. Whenever the eldest prince opened one of the magical texts, she would copy them and place them into the steadily growing book. With one day to go before their arrival, Tomoyo had collected all the spells and stories she could. She decorated the leather-bound book with magic runes and stored it into her trunk of magic artifacts.
Sakura watched the hazel-eyed prince carefully, learning that he was intent upon his training in both magic and martial arts. Suddenly, she realized what he needed most. Calling up her power, the Sword, the Through, the Create, the Lock, the Power, the Silent, and the Shield, they created a magical sword that only the hazel-eyed prince could use. She used her magic to ensure that the sword would never give away the owner by making noise, that it could cut through many things, and amplify the strength of the bearer. Satisfied by her strong magical working, she then created a sheath, one of the only things that the sword couldn't cut through, and promptly fell asleep.
Meiling had a hard time deciding just what gift to get the amber eyed prince. He used no sword and had no need of one because his style of martial arts was hand-to-hand, he liked books but there was nothing that he seemed to want, for their library was quite extensive. She could not know what to get him. Then, she chanced to see him practicing a certain move that he could not execute for the move was quite ancient and powerful, and also almost forgotten. She clapped her hands delightedly and took out her Book. Traveling back in time, she compiled several ancient, long forgotten, and very powerful moves into one scroll which she packed into a case and spelled so that nothing could harm it.
Chiharu smiled down at the close-eyed prince. She had long since learned how to lip-read from her mother, telling her it was going to come in handy someday, and spent long hours reading the most amusing stories from his lips. She contacted Naoko and, with her assistance, wrote a book filled with ridiculous stories explaining the most minor things. She read it herself once and laughed herself to tears. Later, she congratulated Naoko, for Sakura had actually believed a great deal of the stories. Still wiping tears of laughter from her lashes, she fell asleep, the thick book in a box beside her.
Tomoyo stared into her mirror. It was late at night and Ion had said they were going to arrive at the palace by early midmorning, but she could not sleep. Even little Selene had succumbed to slumber. Stroking the dark fur of her Guardian, she found the eldest prince in his personal library, reading in one of the comfortable chairs. She blushed, noting he was wearing a dark blue, silk robe with subtle patterns woven into it, even darker, loose, pajama pants, and nothing else. She urged the mirror closer until she could see what he was reading. It was a history of the two countries and the spell that Clow Reed had woven. Tomoyo looked puzzled, for there was an identical book like that in her own library. She had read the table of contents and put the book down, but now she remembered the words clearly. Looking at the heading on the section he read, she noticed he was not reading the way the spell was cast or how it worked, but more, why Clow did what he did, and judging by the small smile that played around his lips, he liked that the two families could only intermarry on account of true love. She wondered why he was smiling and hoped it was because he wished to marry for true love and not because he wished not to marry at all. Now why did I think that? She mused. Did she want him to marry for true love? And why was she hoping that he did marry when it was hardly any business of hers?
Suddenly, the prince turned and looked straight into her eyes through the mirror, a small smile playing on his lips. Her insides froze as she realized he could see her. A sizzling burst of pure magic appeared in her mind and she heard his soft words clearly as if they had been sitting side by side. I can see you my beautiful princess. Tomoyo's eyes widened in shock. She felt caught, unable to move, mesmerized by the prince's eyes, unable to clear her mirror because of the power behind them. His aura was deep blue, darker than ever hers, saturated with ancient knowledge and strength. I've never really looked straight into your eyes, her mind idly mused, for she had gotten into the habit of speaking to his image as if he were her friend or companion. Nor I yours, my princess, he replied with a sweet smile, much like the one she had seen when he had tended his personal greenhouse, complete with garden and orchard. With a gasp, Tomoyo was freed from her shock and she hastily cleared her mirror, feeling the connection between them snap.
Her heart beat wildly and a flood of emotions filled her until she felt ready to burst. Horror, fear, awe at his strength and power, even greater than hers, guilt and puzzlement at how he could have seen her when she regularly kept up her concealment charms, shame and embarrassment at being caught, even when she felt that he would not tell of the incident to anyone, but most of all, there was another emotion, causing her cheeks to blush on their own accord. What was that all about?!
Review please!
Cobalt Rose