Chapter Two
The Choices Made
A small yellow stuffed lion with wings and a white puff ball at the end of its tail hovered over Sarah's desk. Its wings did not move. It was just somewhat suspended in midair. For its eyes, two black dots were placed on it, it looked as though it barely had a nose and its mouth was just a line.
"That's weird," Karen said as she gave Sarah a tissue. She walked over to the stuffed animal and poked its belly. It jumped in surprise and tried to bit her finger. "Dude, what is this? What are you?"
"I'm the Guardian of the Sakura Cards, you lesbian!" it replied.
Sarah gave a loud cough that sounded like a mixture of a real cough and a laugh. Karen stared at the creature, her hands slowly turning into fists.
"What?" she asked it.
"You heard me! I'm the Guardian of the Sakura Cards, so bug off!" it told her.
"No…what did you call me?" Karen asked it though gritted teeth.
"A lesbian. Sure looks like it to me. The way you were holding Sarah kind of told that to me," it told her.
"Why, I should rip your bloody-"
"Kerberos!" came Sakura's voice. She ran to the stuffed animal and hugged it. "Oh my Kero! I've missed you so much!"
The stuffed animal, who Sarah guessed was Kero, looked like she couldn't be happier. He was with his mistress again. He looked like he couldn't be happier until Sakura started to hug him a little too tightly to her chest and he couldn't breathe.
"Air! I need air, Sakura!" he gasped.
"Oh! Sorry Kero! I was so happy that I didn't realize…"Sakura's voice wondered off.
"It's okay, I understand," Kero said, gently fixing his now slightly crooked wings.
"Kero?" Sarah asked. "Kerberos, the guardian of the Clow Cards?"
"Sakura Cards," he corrected her with a slight smile on his face. She looked so much like Sakura that he couldn't help but smile at it.
"Hold on…if you're Kero and my mothers wasn't just playing with me about you being this small…oh god, I'm screwed!" Karen muttered, hitting her head against the wall.
"So Sarah, haven't seen you since…well, I've never seen you before," Kero said, flying up to her and looked her over.
"How'd you-"
"Sakura…I mean, your mother, told me when she was pregnant with you she'd name you Sarah if you were a girl. Also, I could tell from your eyes you were her daughter. What did you do to your hair? Isn't it supposed to be brown?" Kero asked.
"I dyed it blonde," she told him.
"Aw…you probably looked good with brown hair," Kero whined.
"Ah, so you're finally out of the book, eh?"
Kero turned and glared at Syaoran, who was smiling in the doorway. "You haven't left Sakura yet, huh?" Little baka," he muttered.
"I'm not so little anymore, Kerberos. I can do this now since I'm more powerful then I was when you were sent back into the book." Syaoran lifted up his hand and threw it back. Kero went flying across the room and into Sarah's closet. It closed and locked itself.
"Hey! That's no fair! I don't have all of my powers!" came Kero's voice from inside.
Sarah ran over to her closet and opened it up. She picked Kero up and set him down on the table. "You okay?" she asked him.
"Of course I am! I'm the Guardian of the Sakura Cards! I am never hurt! Now…tell me, who's the lesbian?" he asked her.
Again, he went flying across the room and hit the wall, falling to the floor. Sarah ran over to him and picked him up again. Karen lowered her hand.
"I-am-not-a-lesbian, you-stuffed-baka!" she yelled at it.
"That's Karen Daidouji," Sarah told him.
"Daidouji? Why does that name seem so familiar?" Kero asked himself, going into pondering.
"He's been in the book for a little over 13 years. It's understandable he'd forget. He does that a lot. Does the name Tomoyo Daidouji ring a bell?" Syaoran asked him.
Kero stared at him, then at Karen, who seemed ready to him again. "SHE'S TOMOYO'S DAUGHTER!" he yelled.
"Shh! Keep your voice down! David's trying to sleep next door!" Sakura told him.
"Adopted, thank you very much," Karen said, slugging him again.
Michael stared at the Guardian of the Sakura Cards who was sitting next to him as Sakura made tea. He couldn't believe it was really him. He had heard so many stories from Eriol about him…but he was supposed to have golden eyes and great wings! He supposed that because the cards were loose, he was in stuffed animal form.
Kero, however, did not seem to take any notice of this. He and Karen were glaring at each other from across the room. When someone got in their way, usually Eriol because he found it to be rather amusing, they'd move their heads so they were glaring at each other again.
Sarah looked across the table at Michael. He looked up from his tea and they caught each others eyes. Those green eyes of hers caught his in an instant and he really was about to freeze time to get a closer look at those eyes and see them for what they truly were, but they left a moment later in fear. Sarah saw his cold disposition in his eyes and feared it because she was not all that used to it.
"Was it all planned out? Me opening the book, I mean?" Sarah asked as her mother set down her lemon tea for her.
"Nobody really decides who will open it. The cards do that," Eriol told her. He happened to be her godfather, but they hadn't seen each other for over four-five years, so when they had that encounter in the living room it was out of total surprise for Sarah.
"If the cards were to choose you or David, we already had it all planned out how'd it happen. It wasn't until you were eleven that the cards decided you should be the next mistress. At that point, we saw what was to come. We knew Michael would come and we knew you would not take this all that well," Sakura said, giving Kero his tea.
"We just needed to figure out how to get you to open the book when you knew it by heart. First we tried the book shop, sending it there. We were hoping you'd open it to figure out fully if it was a fake or not. Obviously, that failed. Then we decided on the dream. You, however, added your own touch," Syaoran said, looking at Michael.
"I figured that if I hadn't helped her out, she never would have opened it," he answered simply after a sip of tea.
"I somewhat wished you hadn't," Sarah muttered.
The room fell silent. Care tried to stop Michael before he answered, but she was too late.
"You can't deny destiny! It's a thing that happens!" he shot back.
"To hell with destiny, then! You make your own destiny! You make the decisions, you make the choices! You learn from your mistakes and learn not to repeat them! That's destiny," Sarah shot back to him.
"You're basically under contract right now! You can't fight it! You were born into the Li clan, you were raised on magic! It's your own damn fucking fault if you decided to take up this practice of magic and not turn away!" he hissed, standing up and towering over her in his rage.
"And what if I decide, you know what? I don't want to do this? What if I decide, to hell with this and just don't do it?" Sarah said, her fists clenched and standing up as well to face him.
Silence came over the room again. Sarah looked around the room, nervously.
"What will happen if I decide not to do this?" she asked her voice soft.
Kero spoke up. "Disaster…unimaginable chaos will fall upon this earth. Depending on the person, it could be nothing all that important at all. A little thing taken away from them means nothing. But, then again, it could be the worst thing above everything else."
"But I didn't want to do this! Do I not have any say in this…at all?" Sarah asked her parents.
They shook their heads, sadly. Sakura never wanted her daughter to have to go through any of this. She knew it'd be hard for her to handle. Michael was right, however. She just needed the staff to finalize the contract. Sarah turned to Eriol. He looked down into his tea, trying to ignore her sad eyes. She turned to Kero. He flew into the living room and beckoned for Sarah to fallow. She did.
"You need the staff. If you do not have it, you'll never get the cards," he told her, in a soft gently voice. He wanted to be kind. He sensed great sadness from her at that moment.
Sarah nodded wordlessly. She didn't want to do this, but what other choice did she have? She knew in her heart she was not ready for this, but she also could not turn it down. Besides, she would probably have to do it later on in life if she didn't do it now. She also was not going to let down her parents. She wanted to prove to herself as well that she was as strong as anyone else in the Li clan and in the Haku clan.
As Kero started the incantation, she started to cry. One, this wasn't how she wanted to live the rest of her life: capturing and controlling the Sakura cards. And two, she was in pain. She felt weak and it did not feel good. She felt like she was half between barfing and fainting.
In Japanese, Kero spoke, "Key of the Sakura Cards, a young woman asks to create a contract with you." A small pink key with a star enclosed in a circle appeared in front of Sarah. "As the moon, sun and stars as my witness, I give her the contract and the role of Card Captor." Kero looked at the key. "Release your true form."
The key started to spin and soon transformed into a staff. On each side of the circle where the star was were tiny little wings.
"Take the staff, Sarah," her father told her.
Sarah tried to, but the moment she reached out for it, she screamed out in pain. Kero seemed to want to help her, but if he broke his concentration for just one moment, the spell would brake. Sarah fell to her knees, crying in pain from her weakening magic. David started to cry upstairs for being woken up so rudely.
Karen and Syaoran were about to run forward, for Sakura couldn't since she was getting David and just now floating down through the ceiling with him in her arm's. Michael got up from his seat in a flash and beat both Karen and Syaoran. He grabbed a hold of Sarah and helped her stand up. He may not have liked her that much or think her worthy of being the next mistress of the cards, but he did trust her and that trust was what made him help her.
"Take the staff. Its powers will help you," he whispered to her. "Are you willing?" He grasped her wrists. He felt her nod weakly. He lifted up her arm and she reached out and grabbed it by herself. Both of them felt a pulse run through her body. She started to fall over again, but he supported her in his arms.
Sarah felt like she could keel over at any given moment. He legs…she couldn't feel them at all. Her body…was it even there? She couldn't feel it either. Her eyes closed and she fell back into Michael, the staff still in her hands.
Kero flew over to her and felt her pulse. "The sudden boost of power must have surprised her weak body."
"I'll take her up to her room," Michael said.
"No, I can do it," Karen said. A small growl rose in her throat. I'm not letting a complete stranger hold onto her."
"Oh yeah," said Kero. "Hand her over to the lesbian."
Karen hit him over the head, hard. Fire-tail walked over to Michael's side, sniffing Sarah's limp hand. He gently licked it and looked up at her, hoping it would have woken her up. He whined slightly at seeing that she did not.
"Fire-tail won't let him do anything to her, Karen, so don't worry. She'll be fine," Eriol said calmly, trusting Fire-tail fully.
"How am I supposed to trust your word for sure or…even trust that thing? Trust a common dog?" Karen asked.
"I am not a common dog and do not dare refer to me as one unless you wish to have your throat ripped out and torn to pieces!" came a deep, menacing growl-like Japanese voice.
Karen and Kero stared at the dog, which seemed to getting ready to jump on Karen and do exactly what he had just said. Sakura and Syaoran looked at Eriol, smiling. They knew Fire-tail was his doing. Care just rolled her eyes and continued to sip her tea. Fire-tail boasted a lot, but wasn't much of a doer of sorts.
"Fire-tail is Michael's guardian. Believe me, if anything happens, he'll take care of it," Eriol said.
"He wouldn't let anything happen to Sarah, nor to me for that matter," Michael said and with that, started up the stairs. Fire-tail fallowed him, mumbling things like, "Common dog…not even all that powerful, that girl…really bad introduction if you ask me."
Michael laid her down on the bed and set the staff on the floor next to her.
"You're not terribly fond of her, are you, Michael?" Fire-tail asked him. Fire-tail did not know all that much English, so he preferred to speak in Japanese and for everyone else around him to speak in Japanese when they were talking to him.
"Why should I be? She's not special or important to me. In my opinion, she's a weakling," Michael said.
"But so were you when you first started your training. Give her time," Fire-tail replied, sniffing around her room.
"If I give her time, when I feel she's ready, she'll be near dead. Her power is failing her, Fire. How is she supposed to survive anything with her powers failing like this?"
Sarah heard their voices and felt herself start to cry again. She felt fingers on her cheek and wanted so badly to disappear right then and there…but if she even tried, she wouldn't be able to: she was weak. Also…the fingertips were gentle towards her. They still scared her, but they were gentle.
"She's crying," Michael whispered. He gently wiped them away. "Nightmare I suppose."
Her cheek was soft beneath his fingers.
Sarah and Karen's shopping was not done as to the fact that Sarah had wanted to get home A.S.A.P. when she had found the book yesterday so they came back the next day. As they walked around, both tried to ignore the fact that Tomoyo was video taping them, as usual.
Tomoyo half hoped that Sarah and Karen would get together. They looked so cute when they were walking side by side! It was only a hope, though. It wasn't high. She knew Sarah was straight and Karen wanted nothing to do with love. She could dream though, right?
"Mom, do you have to tape us?" Karen asked as they walked into a shoe store. Karen was finally going to be able to buy those boots she had been wanting since forever.
"Of course! You two look so cute together!" Tomoyo said with a small giggle in her voice.
Sarah went red. A lot of newspapers in England, The States, Japan and China all had rumors that she was a lesbian because she had been seen "making out" with another female celebrity. Little did they know was that it was fore scene in a movie that was coming out in two weeks. Sarah was bi in that movie, so she had to make out with that woman. She really was not proud of it.
With Karen, sure, there were rumors floating around that they were a lesbian couple, but when Sarah had had a boyfriend a few years ago, the rumors started to die down.
"We may look cute together, Tomoyo, but if we were to start dating anytime soon, she'd kill me," Sarah said, pointing to Karen.
Karen just grinned and continued to search for those boots. Sarah started to finger the necklace she had around her neck. In fact, she was not only wearing the Sakura Key, but another key that were made specifically to open two things in her house: the room behind her closet and the safe she had hidden underneath a loose floorboard in her closet.
Inside the safe were some items that meant much more to her than her magic: a picture of Sarah holding David in her arm's when he was first born, a dagger with crystals in the holder that she used when depression kicked in that had been given to her by her grandmother, Syaoran's mother, before she died. She only used it for that because she was afraid that if she used it too much, it'd brake. It was an heirloom to the Li clan. There was also a ring her parents had given to her when she was five which they had said "holds the most precious feeling inside it for you." They had also said that that feeling won't be released until the right time had come. Sarah just liked the turquoise that was in it. The thing, though, that she hadn't looked at for over one or two years and had completely forgot about was a small velvet black box. Inside the box was a necklace with a dagger hanging from it. The small dagger had a red diamond in the holder and the Egyptian sign for 'immortal' and 'love' in the small blade.
The necklace had been given to her by her boyfriend about two years ago (he was 15 at the time he had given it to her) who had died when he was skate boarding and was hit by a car. He spent half a week in the hospital and died from internal bleeding. He had given it to her just two days before the accident. A note had been found and given to her a few days after his death that was a suicide note that was dated five days before it happened. In it, he left the necklace to her saying, "Our ages may have been off from each other's, but that doesn't mean this feeling I have for you is nothing. I will love you for the rest of my life and in death. This is to remind you that in life and in death, I'll protect you and love you until the immortal fates decide to cut your string. When that happens, I'll be holding you when you wake up and I'll still love you."
Every time Sarah looked at the necklace, she would start to cry and hide it from her sight. That wound in her heart had never fully healed and she figured it never would. The note was still there, written in faded pen and truthful feelings. Sarah remembered that he had a scar on his middle finger on the hand he wrote with from when he had broken it. He had said that he broke it because he flipped too many people off in one day.
Sarah hadn't looked at the safe in three months.
"I found them…and there in my size!"
Sarah laughed as Karen happily pulled them on.
"What do you think, Squeak?" Karen asked her friend.
"Awesome! Kick Ass! Need I say more?" Sarah said, complementing her cousin.
"How much are they, honey?" Tomoyo asked, still taping.
Karen looked at the price and let out a sigh of frustration. "They're 39 pounds! I don't believe this!"
Sarah looked at the box that they were in and smiled. "I believe there's a 'sale' sign, Karen," Sarah pointed to it on the box. "They're 30 off today."
Karen looked at Sarah. "I love you, Squeak."
"Ditto."
Sarah and Karen continued around the mall when Kero, who had been sleeping peacefully in Sarah bag the entire time, popped out.
"What's up?" Sarah asked him.
"A Sakura Card…I can feel it!" Kero muttered.
"We can't be seen with him around here like this. People will start to wonder!" Tomoyo's voice whispered in Sarah's ear. Sarah nodded and all three of them ran out of the mall. Kero flew out of her bag.
"Do you have your key with you, Sarah?" he asked her.
Sarah nodded.
"Repeat this incantation. By the power of the stars! Staff of power, made by Clow, reveal to me your true form now!"
Sarah pulled out the key and started speaking in Japanese, "By the power of the stars! Staff of power, made by Clow, reveal to me your true form now! Release the staff!"
It appeared and she grabbed it.
"Oh this is dija vie all over again!" Tomoyo sighed, still taping.
"Must you tape her, Mom?" Karen groaned, looking at her.
"Don't you want to watch Card Captor Hime, daughter of Sakura and Syaoran Li all over again?" she asked her daughter.
Karen shook her head. "You're insane, Mom. And don't call her Hime. She doesn't like that name anymore," she said quietly, ashamed that her friend hated such a beautiful name.
A huge gust of wind blew before them and the gentle sound of a bird chirp reached Sarah's ear.
"What's going on!" Karen yelled, covering her eyes from the dirt blowing around.
"It's Fly!" Kero yelled.
"Fly?"
"The card Fly, with the power of flight. Where is it?" Kero asked, looking around.
It didn't take long for any of them to notice the huge white bird above them. A chirp came again and Sarah turned to Karen.
"I need night, Karen! I can't let people see this going on!" she told her.
"One midnight black night coming up, Squeak," Karen said and lifted her hand. She whispered in Japanese, "Goddess of the night, hear my plea, allow me your staff to turn this sunlit day into a moonlight night!"
The sky slowly turned black and Sarah could sense the people that were inside the mall falling asleep somehow. Karen had the habit of accidentally bringing sleep with her when she brought forth night. Karen's hand glowed a bright yellow.
"Wolf, transform!"
Karen transformed into a giant white wolf and ran over to Sarah.
"Can you jump onto the birds back?" Sarah asked her friend.
Karen nodded and allowed Sarah to get on her back. She ran and leaped. Her paws glowed much like her hands had before. Karen missed the giant white birds back, but landed on the roof of the mall.
"Be careful up there, you two!" Tomoyo called up to them.
"One more jump should do it, Karen! Please!" Sarah urged her.
Karen let out a low growl in reply, ran and jumped onto the huge birds back.
"How do I release a card, Kero?" Sarah yelled to him getting off Karen's back and she transformed back into a human.
"Just yell out the first thing that comes to your mind…and hurry!" he yelled as the Fly's wings almost hit him as he flew close to her.
Sarah started to panic. She looked at Karen who was down on one knee, grasping the Fly's feathers so she would not fall off.
"Do it, Sarah! You have to do it!"
Sarah nodded. In Japanese, she spoke, "Sakura Cards hear my plea! Come to my aid and assist me! Windy! Bind and trap Fly! Release your power!"
The wings on each side of the circle on top of the wand became big and the star started to spin and the Windy Card was released. She wrapped her winds around Fly's neck and wings, binding it. Karen transformed back into her wolf form, got Sarah to climb on and they landed on the ground safely. Fly landed on the ground, still bound with a loud crash!
Sarah got off Karen's back and ran to where the card was. "Return to the form you were destined to be in, Sakura Card!" she yelled in Japanese.
The card appeared and Fly went into it. The staff went back into a key and Karen watched Sarah fall weak to the ground.
"Sarah!" She ran over to her and helped her up.
"I'm so tired," Sarah muttered and buried her eyes in Karen's neck.
Karen waved her glowing hand up to the sky and the moonlit night turned back to sunlit day.
"Michael said that her power is weakening. Maybe she used too much of it," Karen said looking down sympathetically at her cousin who seemed to be sleeping with her head rested against Karen's neck. She picked her up. It was amazing how much stronger Karen was compared to Sarah. Sarah weighed about 120, but Karen still able to carry her.
"Well, if this isn't a sure sign that you're her lesbian lover, I don't know what is! You can carry her!" Kero yelled, glaring at her.
Karen looked at Kero and growled menacingly at him. Tomoyo grabbed Kero and snuggled him against her cheek.
"It's good to see you again, Kero," she whispered to him as she put her camera away and pulled out the keys to her car.
"Same to you, Tomoyo. Why'd you adopt that girl over there?" he asked her, sitting on her shoulder as they walked towards the car.
"Who, Karen? When I saw her in that group home, I had brought Sarah with me. I was watching while Sakura and Syaoran were off at work. Karen was two years and Sarah was still a year old. Karen just ran up to Sarah and asked her to play with her. Sarah was so shy that I pushed her slightly to play with her. Eventually, Sarah agreed and Karen just grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the train sets. I spent about an hours or two there and saw how she and Karen got along and I knew. I wanted her. She seemed perfect."
"Mom! Open the doors! Please!" Karen called. "I can't hold her forever you know!"
"I know, I know."
Kero watched as Tomoyo opened the door and Karen placed Sarah in the car and placed the bag with her stuffed animal she had brought, a white tiger, neck to her. He closed his eyes and felt it. Karen was powerful.
"Not as power as Sarah or that Haku baka, but it's there. Clow…" Kero smiled. "You planed all of this, didn't you? Sarah and Karen meeting, Haku and Sarah's meeting. Why, then, do I hate him and Karen so much when they're both a majority of Sun magic?"
"Get in here, stuffed animal! Sarah and her parents would kill me if I didn't bring you back!" Karen yelled out the window.
Kero flew into the open window and flew over to Sarah's sleeping body. He snuggled up against her neck and rested, still thinking.
"Why do I hate them so much if they're under the same power as me?" he thought.
