Disclaimer: Absolutely no way in hell am I gonna own CCS.

Summary: Tomoyo is a songbird, a free and talented one. One day, an enchantress imprisons the songbird and locks her in a cage, never to sing or most importantly, to be free again.


Quintessential Cage

Imprisonment

By nilfheim

Darkness surrounded her. There was nothing to be seen and nothing to be heard. Nothing except the numbing coldness around her. Somehow, the darkness personified the chilly atmosphere around. Her head buried under her arms, Tomoyo was shivering. She sat with her head propped up by her knees. Tomoyo knew that she was all alone, yet the feeling of someone watching over her was getting stronger every second.

Tomoyo could hear the wind roaring behind her back and she shivered more, her teeth chattering. In some way, even if Tomoyo had her back turned from the source of the howling wind, she knew that someone whose presence could be felt without even seeing it arrived. And Tomoyo suddenly felt fear as she had never experienced it before in her life.

Meanwhile, the presence approached her, getting nearer and nearer. Tomoyo could hear her heartbeat pounding more and more every second. The hair on her back stood up and Tomoyo could see goose bumps on her skin. Closing her eyes, Tomoyo felt the presence passing over her. Then after what seemed like an era, when Tomoyo was calmed down again, she slowly opened her eyes.

All was in a blurry but everything cleared again after a few seconds. And Tomoyo's breath was cut short. A pair of eyes were staring at her in an evil and threatening way.

A pair of green cat eyes.


Singing the last notes of her song, Daidouji Tomoyo wowed the crowd and earned a standing ovation from the audience. Tomoyo was unconsciously scanning the crowd and saw a figure in the shadows, someone seated at the back row.

'What-' Tomoyo started but before her eyes, a pair of green cat eyes appeared from the figure in the shadows.

The emcee congratulating Ms. Daidouji on another well-executed performance brought Tomoyo back to reality. Tomoyo smiled at the audience before her, hoping nobody noticed she actually spaced out for a while.

'Maybe it was my imagination,' Tomoyo thought, smiling and beaming to everybody.

Tomoyo recalled a haunting nightmare last night that bothered her till this very moment, and even more now. Was she really imagining it or did she saw a pair of green cat eyes from the very back row. Tomoyo looked at the crowd again and saw nobody there.

'But I did saw someone or is it just me?' Tomoyo speculated.

A man from backstage gave Tomoyo a lovely bouquet of flowers. Tomoyo accepted it gratefully and gave a smile to the man who gave it to her then looked back at the crowd, smiling and beaming. Another prolonged applause could be heard from the Tomoeda Theater.

Maybe it was her imagination after all. Or maybe not.


Staring at the ceiling, Tomoyo replayed the day's events in her mind. She felt happy and elated, who wouldn't anyway? Her mother, the head of a toy corporation, used her influence in persuading the people in charge of the annual awards program in Tomoeda to let Tomoyo have a part. Tomoyo was a bit depressed these days, it was like feeling sad and crying over something she didn't even know why. Daidouji Sonomi was a bit concerned for her daughter.

Tomoyo took a deep breath. She had a little bit of logical reasoning to feel depressed. There was something or someone that made Tomoyo felt as though she was about to be imprisoned soon. Locked away forever, never knowing the meaning of freedom again.

'Really, I must be getting paranoid,' Tomoyo mused, smiling a half-smile.

Turning off the lamp, Tomoyo was about to close her eyes when she saw something enough to give her a shock till the next century. There was a pair of green cat eyes in front of her.

And that was all Tomoyo saw as she succumbed to unconsciousness and felt the malevolent presence snatching her away.


Inside a far away palace with the mere impression of sorrow and unhappiness, a splendid yet nearly translucent bird with dazzling colors was inside a golden cage. A golden cage without golden bars, except crystal-clear glass. Glass that would imprison a young, budding soul, a songbird to an eternal lifetime without freedom.

A cloaked figure in the shadows watched the young girl, the face already smirking.

"And you, magnificent songbird, would never sing again and would never fly to anyone again," the cloaked figure muttered.

An unearthly wail rose from the almost transparent bird, singing a song of lamentation.

"No one except me."


Tomoyo looked peacefully asleep in her bed, the perfect image of tranquility and harmony. That was only outside of course. Her body was like a shell, without a soul and without a heart. Somewhere in another realm, in another dimension, was the real Tomoyo.


AN: Review people. Constructive criticisms are most welcome.