"Three Jewels Enchanted: The Beginning of an Epic"
by Seventh Faythes
Robin: Who's on the Disclaimer duty again?
Xiu Ying: sigh I am! Why do we always have to do this?
Disclaimer: Seventh Faythes do not own any CCS characters that all belong to marvelous CLAMP ladies. Though Jeza and I agree that owning Syaoran would be quite a dream….
Xiao Lei: ahem Let's go on with the chapter, shall we?
Additional Legend:
"faeries talking in their own language"
Stone spirits talking to their owners
change of scene+
Jezareth: Thanks to those who reviewed! I could understand your amazement coz we were all amazed when we came up with this as well, and to the firs five reviewers…
Seventh Faythes: THANK YOU!
Jezareth: And to show you how thankful we are, we're putting all of you guys in the fic! Especially you, Senritsumon-sama! Thank you for reading all our fics!
+The Beginning of an Epic+
The sound of labored breathing seized the air as the prince of the Faeries practiced with his beloved sword, the one that he could not part with. It was made of fine silver steel, with a red charm hanging down from the hilt. His amber eyes held icy glares and his lips were clamped shut, as if he refused to speak. His robes flowed with the wind as he somersaulted into the air and landed on his feet like a cat. He stood up and brushed the sweat from his brow.
KTANG!
Syaoran had blocked two blows with one swift move. A steel staff and two stilettos dropped to the ground.
"Aqu belere qa biktoraa, kuda (I believe you won again, big brother.)," Jenith praised. She walked toward her staff and picked it up. Then Eriol picked up his weapons as well, saying, "Qa tarada raqasa (You really are strong)."
Syaoran furrowed his brows. "Qa magni raqasa kud qa sanuy butami (You become strong if you train good)."
"Yes, kuda. But even if we train to death, I do not believe that it is possible to become as strong as you. It is only right that you receive the crown of Fantasya," Jenith commented. Eriol nodded approvingly.
But Syaoran only shook his head. He refused to reply. Instead, he headed back into the castle. .
"He has already said seven words, has he not?" Eriol asked, looking back and forth from his sister and then his brother's retreating figure.
Jenith nodded her head, though sadly. "Seven words…Is that his limit? For once, I wish we could have full conversations. Full of words, and not mere gestures and glances. I am worried, kuda." She clasped her hands over her chest in a praying manner.
"Someday, aqae (little sister), someday we may see him smile, and talk for a whole day, and most of all, laugh."
"Sei'sa! Sei'spe! (Princess! Prince!)" they heard a voice call out. They turned around and saw a young man running to them, with long white hair, robes, and a pair of angelic wings.
"Yue!" Jenith exclaimed, thinking that she had gotten rid of her ever persistent guardian. She was the only one with a guardian, among the three Sei'tas (royal children). And it had to be Yue, a boy barely older than Syaoran, and the most persistent man in all of Fantasya!
"Risto qa'r Sei'spe Yue! (Here comes your prince Yue!)" Eriol teased. His sister only sighed exasperatedly. He should have known better! She would never like a guard! Especially one who was only plucked out of the peasantry by an old royal adviser.
Jenith tossed her long dark chestnut hair behind her shoulder as Yue approached, looking rather exhausted and worried. "Sei'sa Jenith! I thought I have lost you! Why have you run away?"
"Pardon me, Yue! But I do believe that I am the princess and you are only a guard. I do not have to follow you. You follow me." With that she turned and walked away. Eriol patted the poor guardian on the back.
"Don't worry, Yue. Someday she will get it your way. You know well that Jenith utterly despises being guarded heavily. She wants to be a free spirit, not a caged one. Though I can give you a few suggestions…"
Yue looked up, and saw Eriol's smiling face. Though there was something definitely suspicious about that smile. Knowing Eriol, Yue knew he had something on his mind. "Uhm….Thank you, Prince Eriol. I…Really must be leaving now."
"Oh, sure! I see no reason why I should detain you any longer." The smile remained on Eriol's face as he watched Yue run after his sister. Shaking his head, he thought, 'Poor Yue. But I really wonder why my sister is so irritated with him Could it be…?'
+in Syaoran's room +
Syaoran sat on a bench on the balcony of his room. From there he could look at all of Fantasya. As the holder of the Moonstone, he was granted incredible sight. He could even see farther than the Elves. He could see the Elves preparing for a feast. He could see what remained of the Sprites' land. He could see the birds and beasts through the thick forests. He could even see the auras of each one. But somehow, he could not see into the person he wants to: himself.
He could not see why he wanted to be alone all the time. He could not see why his eyes only held a freezing glare. He could not see why he only spoke a limit of seven words. He just could not see why…
Young one….Syaoran….
He looked up. 'That voice again….'
Why are you so melancholy? Is something the matter?
'Luna….I do not know…anything. I can see anything, even someone's aura. But…I cannot see into my own self. I cannot see who I am. Why I do any of this….'
All in due time, my young prince, all in due time….
Syaoran could do nothing but sigh and stare up into the heavens. 'All in due time? When? When will all the answers come?'
+meanwhile+
Meanwhile, within the hearts of Fantasya's rocky caverns, the sound of cold metal can be heard. Someone was forging a blade. The steel shone bright vermillion as the smith pounded on it. Smoke came out as he thrust the blade into a basin of water. The smith examined his creation with content and passed the blade to another smith.
"How long will it take!" the king of the goblins demanded to his right hand, Agate. The woman hit the floor with the end of her javelin, making the sound echo across the cave.
"Faster! Work faster, slaves!" she demanded to the smiths. They all started to scurry around faster. Agate was the new general of the goblins, a fierce heartless woman, whose true color is betrayed by her immense beauty, which is both alluring and fatal.
Two slaves knelt before her and the king and presented the new sword. The blade had turned a nightly black, and the hilt shone with the gold used to make it. The goblin king, Dargon, stood up and took the sword. He twirled it in his hand and smirked. "Perfect! Good work, slaves! This will work well against those wretched faeries. Finally, after all these years, we can finally achieve our revenge! Gather the troops, Agate, the time has come!"
Agate bowed before her king. "Of course, your highness. I shall assemble them at once! And then it will be time to attack the Faeries."
+in the castle of faeries+
Syaoran toyed with his food lazily. He was in no condition to eat. He only went to the table to join his family. Even when the food looked absolutely delicious, he still did not eat. His mother looked at him, concerned. Her siblings tried to tear their attention away from him, but ended up making a glance or two.
Syaoran stood up and bowed. Then he turned on his heel and left. Everyone understood. He was done, even when he had barely touched his food. The maidservants opened the door for him, but he only gave them glares, and did not open his mouth. As usual.
"Poor kuda. He barely eats. If he continues like this, he may end up being sick."
"Do not worry, Jenith, he shall be fine. He has always been like this. I only wish I knew why. Perhaps it is because he takes after his father… "
The two other children decided not to talk anymore. It might only make their mother sadder. They only focused on finishing their meal. Which, unfortunately was interrupted by a guard.
SBAM!
The door burst open and a dark-haired guard rushed in, panting and dripping with sweat.
"Yamazaki?" Eriol and Jenith chorused. They both bolted upright and rushed to their friend. He looked wounded, and they instantly saw the gash on his right shoulder. He knelt down out of exhaustion.
"Quickly! A room for Yamazaki! And some grinded herbs!" The maidservants scurried at the princess' orders. Eriol supported the guard while Jenith took of the clothes and armor covering his shoulder. The maids brought in the herbs and bandages. Quickly but gently, Jenith smeared the grinded herbs on his wound. Then she started wrapping it with the clean bandage.
"What has happened, Yamazaki!" the queen questioned as Yamazaki was being healed.
"Your highness…The goblins…have began attacking the Land of Elves…T-they are heading straight for us, y-your highness…" With that, he collapsed completely.
Eriol supported him up. "Take him to his room!" The guards immediately complied and took the boy off his shoulders.
"This is not good…"Yelan muttered, "the goblins will soon attack us as well!"
"Then we shall prepare our troops to fight! Excuse us, mother." Bothe the prince and princess turned around and were about to leave.
"Where are you going, my children?"
It was only Jenith who stopped to explain. "We shall fight, mother. Yamazaki is hurt, and our troops are currently left leader-less. We have to fill in the gap, and pitch in as well. Mother, we have been preparing for this, so do not worry." With that she left.
"Your highness, I have to follow them." Yue bowed and straightened up. "I shall also be bringing Ruby Moon, Keroberos and Spinel with me, for further assurance."
"Of course, Yue, of course. And I implore you, please take care of my children."
"I will, your highness."
+moments later+
Syaoran pulled on his silver armor and secured it. He then put on his greaves and his head guard. He also seized his shield and his sword. Both held his symbol: the symbol of the moon. His sword shone bright, and it almost seemed…transparent. His helmet was somehow inspired by a pair of wings, and he also had some wing designs on his armor.
Eriol put on his own armor, which was bright red-orange. Unlike Syaoran, his clothes were inspired by fire and the sun. He did not need a shield though, for he wielded two weapons: two bright red stilettos.
Lastly, the young princess was preparing as well. Her clothes were all pink and were inspired by the stars and nature, mainly flowers. She used a long rod, with blades on each side. She has been training long for this moment, and now it has come.
The three royal children walked out of the castle, fully prepared and with their capes flowing freely in the wind. The stable boys handed them their steeds, who are all beautiful and with smooth manes. They hoisted themselves onto their horses and looked at the army before them.
"Kamyanta cha maga gobrine! (Death to the goblins!)" Eriol yelled, raising his fist. The army also raised their weapons.
"Kamyanta cha maga gobrine! (Death to the goblins!)" they yelled back.
Eriol then turned to his siblings. "Are you ready?"
Both nodded. Jenith then turned to the army and yelled, "Dugsho! (Attack!)"
The army immediately ran off to the direction of the land of the Elves. The three stone keepers were soon to follow. Yue, along with a girl with a pair of butterfly wings and two winged beasts, ran alongside the leaders. His companions were Ruby Moon, another guardian like him, and Keroberos and Spinel, the Queen's guardian beasts.
Swords and shields clashed as the faeries fought for the disabled Elves. The goblins' army was well equipped with the best weapons one has ever seen, which was not a surprise for they have been known to be the best swordsmen and weapon smiths in the whole of Fantasya. But the faeries proved to be formidable opponents.
Syaoran and his siblings were the best among their kind. They knocked down five goblins at a time each, which was not much of a surprise either, for they have been well trained for battle.
However, the goblins figured that the horses gave some advantage to the siblings, and quickly took down the magnificent beasts, sending them to the ground.
"Sei'sa!" Yue yelled, blocking an attack from one of the goblins. It was intended for the princess. The guardian killed the assailant, but got wounded in the process. The goblin had managed to make a cut on his shoulder.
"Yue!" Jenith ran to him, and helped him. "Yusa qa l'n da? (Are you alright?)"
"Y-yes, but…" They both stopped when they noticed how close they have gotten. They immediately pulled away, their faces warming up.
"KYAAAHHH!"
KTANG!
Syaoran successfully blocked and disarmed an onrushing assailant. He thrust his sword into its belly and pulled it out. Mysteriously, no matter who he killed, the blood would not taint his sword, or his armor.
"Prince Syaoran! Behind you!" a tiny, high-pitched voice squealed. Syaoran spun around and stabbed another enemy.
A small winged fairy, shining in a gold aura hovered beside him, spreading gold dust from her wings. Syaoran turned to her and nodded once.
"You are welcome, Sei'spe!" Senritsumon, the little fairy said, as though understanding his unspoken words.
"Senritsumon!"
"Yes, Sei'sa Jenith?"
"Fly up and see how many enemies are still left, then report back to kuda Eriol!"
"Understood!" Senritsumon flew up into the sky, scanning the whole battlefield. Then, the fairy did as followed, and flew down to the eldest child. "Prince Eriol, the goblins are gradually decreasing in number! We are proving to be victorious!"
"That is wonderful, Senritsumon!"
While his sister and brother were busy fighting, Syaoran managed to catch someone at the corner of his eye. It was Agate, and he recognized her immediately, and ran after the retreating woman.
Agate stopped at a dead end, and Syaoran knew she was trapped. "Well, well," Agate began, as though she was not aware of her situation, "it is the prince of the faeries. Nice to finally meet you again, Sei'spe. How long has it been…Nine years? How is the life without a father?"
Syaoran answered her with a fiery glare and with a blow of his sword. But Agate stopped it. Being clearly older and taller than Syaoran, she had more advantage even when her gender is considered.
Their swords still pushing against each other, they turned around in a circle. Syaoran was clearly infuriated, for even if he held the sword with both hands, Agate easily countered using only one hand.
Agate smirked. "Well, aren't you the strong one? Why such foreboding, eyes, prince? Are you angry because…" she leaned in closer, pushing the swords near Syaoran's throat, "you lost your father to my sword?"
This angered him further, and he put all of his anger in his sword, causing it to turn a fiery red color. Agate's brow knit in confusion. She had not expected this to occur.
It was Syaoran' turn to smirk, which irritated Agate. She was already countering with both hands, which meant she was having a hard time. Syaoran jumped away and attacked again, but each blow he delivered received a rightful response.
Finally, Agate broke away and held up her hand, but not in surrender. "My prince, look at where we are right now."
The chestnut haired boy glanced around, finding his surroundings full of greenery, and a gigantic tree standing right before him. There was a portal right at the middle of the tree's bark, and it was swirling in a pool of different elements. Syaoran opened his mouth and almost gasped.
"Yes, my prince. We are at the gate that leads to the world of mortals. And this is the spot where I killed your father.
Syaoran gritted his teeth and attacked again. But Agate did not seem to want to turn his attack on him. Instead, she allowed him to push her toward the gate. He was too blind with fury to notice.
A fatal mistake.
"Let's see if the queen can live without her most beloved son!" Agate swerved to the left and got behind Syaoran. She suddenly pushed him into the portal. Syaoran was caught off guard and fell right in.
"Sei'spe!" Senritsumon yelled, flying right into the portal.
Agate pulled out something. A jewel, and pointed it to the portal.
"By the power of the stone of Darkness, abide by the rules of this stone-keeper. Close, portal of dimensions!"
The jewel she was holding glowed and shot a beam at the portal. It closed immediately.
"Now, young prince, let us see if you can return and save your beloved Fantasya."
+at the world of mortals+
DING! DONG! DING!
The school bell rang, signaling the end of the day's classes. Sakura Kinomoto, along with her friends Madison, Chelsea, Nikki and Rica, walked out of Seijuu junior high, chatting lively and animatedly.
"So, Sakura, have you decided to make a move on Yukito?" Chelsea asked, tugging Sakura's sleeve.
The girl blushed to the roots of her hair. "W-what? O-oh, I don't know…After all, he is a lot older than I am. He is twenty one, after all."
Madison cupped her shoulders in her hands. "Oh, Sakura, as they say, age doesn't matter. So why sould you let something like that get between you and Yukito?"
"I don't know…"
"Don't tell me you're still waiting for that imaginary knight in shining armor of yours to come," Nikki commented, crossing her arms. "Oh, pardon me! I forgot he's a fairy!"
Rica, the mature one, said, "Sakura, I know you are doing this to preserve your mother's memory, but by the sound of things, you are believing in a fairy tale. Maybe it's time for you to stick to reality and find a real boy to date. And not one who is only…"
"I know you mean well, guys, but this is important and personal for me. I'm sorry, but I think I have to go. "Before any of them could blurt out another protest, Sakura was already gone.
"They're wrong…faeries do exist. And I believe in them too," Sakura muttered to herself as she walked down the path to her home. It was a paved pathway surrounded by trees, leading to a road.
She suddenly remembered that her father and brother were both away for the rest of the day. Both were at work. 'Looks like I'm alone again tonight….'
Just then, she saw a bright light right before her…
Wakas
Jezareth: Woohoo! Another chapter! And thanks to the following beautiful people who reviewed this fic.
dbzgtfan2004: Thanks for being the first reviewer! We're not actually sure what to name you here, but rest assured that we'll put you in the fic.
Senritsumon: Thanks for overly praising us! And don't worry, we started out like you did. But we think your fics are great! And thanks for adding us to your fave author list and reading all our fics. You must know who you are here already, right? And, you are a Filipino, right?
kawaii lil cherrypink245: You too! Thanks a lot! And we presume that you are a girl, so we're making you into the girl character. Watch out for the next chap!
candy44: Are you a girl too? Because by the sound of your name, you really seem so. So we're making you into a girl too, okay? I think…by the next chap…
LupineLightning-IllusionDragon: lol! Your name's really long! But I think we already have a role for you! Just watch out! And thanks for the mysteriously-long-and-freaky-message. I love your stories too!
Xiu Ying: Guess that's everyone! We're still hoping for more reviews!
Preview:
The long awaited meeting! Sakura meets the half-mute prince of Fantasya and saves his life. Now she has to help him to get well, and return as well, not knowing that she'll be dragged into his world too!