This interlude is told in the perspective of Li Meilin. Its pretty tragic but I think it would make sense in a family like the Li – clan for her to get treated like she does. I also think that Meilin would persevere past such things but still hold something of a grudge for what she feels is the cause of it.
Incomplete: Interlude: Meilin
I hate magic, I have ever since I can remember. I was born different in my family, I was born non-gifted.
I remember when I first realized how different I was. I was only three, and still living with my own mother. I had fallen down that day and hurt myself really badly, I had broken my arm. My mother saw me laying there crying under the tree I had fallen from, the bone from my broken arm sticking out.
"Li Meilin, get up and go to the house at once and stop crying. You will get no pity from anyone here." Her voice was cold as she said this and then she just turned away. I had seen my other siblings hurt themselves and her run to them crying and trying to comfort them, but not with me. I tried to please her by getting up, but I moved my arm wrong, which caused me to black out. When I awoke a stern looking face with kind, warm brown eyes was watching me. The face smiled softly as I opened my eyes and patted my good hand.
"I'm glad you woke up little niece, I was worried about you." That was the first time I met my aunt. She was beautiful and calm, she looked much like my mother, but a bit different too.
"Really Fang Lin, she's your daughter and only a child at that. You should have more sense than that! A three year old child with a broken arm can't be expected to make their way to the house by themselves." I was surprised to see this woman talking to my mother in such a tone of voice, much less calling her by her full name.
"Hui Ying, that child is worthless. If she would just go ahead and die it would be best." I was shocked at my mother's words, but I think the woman sitting by my bed was even more shocked. She moved with one fluid movement and slapped my mother across her face.
"I have no choice then. Fang Lin, I will foster this child. I find that she will be useful, and as head of the clan I make the choice of who takes over the clan. It would serve you right if I chose her." My mother held her hand to her cheek but continued to glare at the woman.
"Big talk, but I already know who will be taking over the Li-clan. Take the worthless trash though, if you want it. She's useless anyway. Magicless…. To think that there is such a disgrace in our bloodline. I should have drowned her when I had the chance." The woman that stood by my bed glared at my mother. It was at that point I discovered that my mother hated me because of magic. Or more because of my lack of it.
"Wei, please pack my niece's things. She will becoming with us to the estates. Fang Lin, I would disown you if I could, but I cannot. But you are not to enter the main estates unless it is a traditional meeting time. As are your children not to. From this point forward you and yours are a disgrace to the Li-clan. Not because you bore a child without magic, but because of your care of that child. The Li-clan does not turn their back on their blood, whether they have magic or not."
When I was ten years old, my Xio Lang went to Japan. It was at this point that I really learned to hate magic.
"Auntie, why does Xio have to go to Japan? Why can't I go?" She looked tired and sad as I asked this.
"Meilin, Xio Lang has a responsibility as heir to the Li-clan to try to either attain the Clow Cards that are loose or to make sure they end up with an individual who is responsible and of good at heart to control them. If they end up in the wrong hands it could mean evil could befall the world. You, Meilin, without magic, might only be in his way." I hated that word. Magic. As soon as it spilled from her lips I ran from the room, hating myself, hating her, but hating that word the most.
I don't know what made me decide to do it. But that was the first time I ran away from home. I didn't follow Xio, it never entered in my mind to do that. I didn't even leave the estates. I hid in the farthest meadows of the estates. I guess Auntie realized where I was pretty quickly, after the first night of being out there I found a note and supplies for me.
"Meilin,
When you are ready to come home I will have a very important task for you.
Love,
Hui Ying"
I felt guilty reading the note, but still angry. I knew it wasn't Auntie's fault for what had occurred, but I felt that if I was near any magic users at the moment I would explode.
I stayed in the meadow for a month or more. I lost track of the days. While I was there I trained. It was the only thing I knew how to do that helped release the anger and pain in my heart. I'd wake up in the middle of the night unable to sleep and I would go and run until I fell over from exhaustion. At the end of what seemed like an eternity I returned back to the main house.
Auntie never fails to amaze me, she was waiting for me in the rain as I walked up the main porch stairs to the door of the house. "Welcome home, Meilin." She didn't admonish me or say anything about the last month.
"You're soaking wet, you should go take a bath. Then meet me in the study. We will discuss your future." I nodded and did as she said, walking to my room and then to the bathing chamber to bath. One of my cousins peeked her head in and grinned at me.
"Good to see you back, tiger!" She placed a robe on the counter for me and waved and shut the door. I smiled, it was good to be back, but I still dreaded the talk with Auntie, about my future. Had she decided I was too much trouble to have around and was going to send me away? I sighed and dunked my head under the water. If only I had magic….
I got out of the tub, I could only delay my punishment for so long. I slipped into the robe that my cousin had left me and put on my slippers. I padded downstairs to the study, my nose following the trail of the smell of food. I stopped and knocked politely on the door, though I was told to come here, it would be rude to just enter.
"Enter Meilin." I entered on my Aunt's command and was surprised to see another person in the room. It was a tall man who was dark with dark eyes that were kind.
"This is her? She looks a little scrawny." The man got up and then started to attack me. Or I should say try. I was mad, nobody called my scrawny. Magicless brat, yes, scrawny, not on your life. I stopped his attacks but didn't get any of my own attacks in, and finally he knocked me on my rearend.
"You should know better than to be deceived by appearances Guolong. Meilin, this will be your instructor in the fighting arts if he will take you. Well, Master Guolong, what do you think?" I was still sitting on the ground rubbing my rather sore rear end as he reached his hand down to offer me help up.
"You need to ask , Hui Ying? Of course I will take her as a pupil." It was at this point that my future changed and I realized that I had a purpose in my life other than just being a magicless Li. I don't know how I knew it, I just did.
"Well, Meilin, I hear that Mistress Li has requested you go to Japan for her." I nodded as I folded my clothing up in my bag. I had been instructing other pupils the last two years, though I too was still only a pupil. My best friend Juan, sat on the edge of my bed. I knew I should yell at him for such slothly behavior, but I wasn't in the mood. My Aunt's letter had me worried. I was fourteen, the same age as my cousin who had just recently returned to Japan to live close to what my Aunt called his fiancé. (Though he blushed and such when I asked if it was true.) My Aunt said that Xio had disappeared from this plane of existence for the time being. I knew more magic crap was behind it, but it didn't make sense to me why she was sending me there. Her letter to be exact:
"Meilin,
I am sorry to be interrupting your training, but I am in need of your services. I have also written to Master Guolong about this matter and he has granted his permission for you to do this, as that you're at journeyman level as a fighter and need to experience the outside world.
I would like you to travel to Japan and become friends with the now current Mistress of the Cards. I fear she may need your services in the near future. Xio Lang has been pulled from this plane of existence by unforeseen forces and it is unknown when he will return. I would like you to help the Mistress of the Cards as much as possible. Not only for Xio Lang and the Li –Clan, but for her as well.
You are the only one I can entrust this matter to. Please do not fail me.
Love,
Hui Ying"
My Aunt, in all the time I had known her had never been that wordy except for one time. When she had confronted my birth mother over me. I knew that this was a serious matter to her. I was honor bound to do this if not blood bound.
My Master walked into the room and knuckled the top of Juan's head. He yelped and ran from the room. My Master sat in the chair across from my bed not saying anything watching me pack. Our silence was our understanding of each other.
"When your duties are done, you're always welcome to return here. Its not often that a scrawny ugly thing like you can make an old scruffy man like me feel like I've accomplished something. And I am hoping you will have new skills to beat me up with." I couldn't help grinning as he said this. I zipped my bag closed and faced him.
"Who you calling scrawny and ugly, old goat?" He got up and hugged me much to my surprise and then ruffled my hair.
"I'm going to have a hard time without you, but please be our school's representative out in the world for me." He let me go and bowed to me. I bowed back.
"It would be my honor to do such." With that I left the room and the grounds of the school and didn't look back. I was glad it was raining that day, for it washed away any tears I might have shed.
"Class, today we have a new student. She is the cousin of Li Syaoran, is that correct?" I nodded, I was unused to being in a proper classroom. I heard two voices gasp at the same time and spotted the two who obviously knew what might have happened to my cousin. One was a petite girl with hair so black it looked blue and pale violet eyes, the other girl who sat next to her, had strawberry blonde hair that bordered on red with brilliant emerald eyes. I recognized her from the picture Xio had shown me. She was the Mistress of the Cards, Kinomoto Sakura.
"Yes, that is correct. My name is Li Meilin, and this is my first time in a school such as this so I hope that everyone will help me." I tried to sound bright, but I was more worried about the girl in front of me who's face had closed up with the mention of my cousin's name, Kinomoto.
"Why not take a seat behind Daidouji-san?" I nodded and did as he said. I watched as the teacher took over teaching the class, it was actually pretty interesting to hear someone discuss history rather than learning it all from a book by one's self. I soon found myself swept into the history lesson forgetting nearly everything elses. Except for the girl diagonally to my front who's sad eyes looked out the window and the girl who sat in front of me staring at her worriedly.
I couldn't help jumping as the bell rang. I looked around and stretched curiously watching what was going on around me. The Kinomoto girl stood up and walked over to my desk and bowed in front of it.
"I am sorry for what has happened to your cousin. It was my fault." The girl's voice quivered as she spoke.
"Sakura-chan!" The girl in front of me gasped with her hands over her mouth. She was obviously distraught over what her friend had said.
"You're the Mistress of the Cards, right? I am Meilin, I hope that we can be friends and wait for Xio to come home together." I put my hand on her shoulder, I felt that maybe she needed the physical reassurance. She looked up at me and smiled, her eyes wet with unshed tears.
"I am. I am Sakura and I would like that." I smiled unknowing ly.
"Well, Sakura, if you ever need physical strength and prowess, I'm your woman. My cousin doesn't have anything on me when it comes to fighting. How's this for a deal? If your ever in need of some physical back up, give me a yell, and if I need some magic mojo, I give you a yell. That way until Xio gets back, we'll both be twice as strong. And you too, ummm, what's your name again?" I asked the girl in front of me.
"I'm Tomoyo, but I don't have any magic abilities." I looked a little shocked as her friend said this.
"Well, then I'm backup." I grinned and held out my hand. Tomoyo took it and smiled.
"I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, not to sound cliché." Tomoyo and Sakura giggled and suddenly I was embraced in a hug like I was a long lost friend of theirs. For some reason I suddenly felt as if I had come home. I knew that what I had said was true, not because Sakura was my cousin's true love, or because she was the Card Mistress, it was because there was something there that just wanted me to do it. Her heart touched mine, I guess is the best description of it……
Now I put a little intro to Meilin in. I guess the ending was a little quick. About Syaolan's Chinese name, I'm pretty sure I murdered it. I don't think either Meilin's mother's or Syaolan's mother's names were ever mentioned in the anime, so I did some Chinese name research. I decided it was best to make sure that Meilin ends up having her own life rather than always seeming like some taken in stray. You never see Syaolan's mother in the manga so who knows, I think she would probably be very kind. It also gives you a good view of why Meilin hates magic so much when you are reading this fanfiction. And yes, I hate Meilin's mom in this too…. Go Hui Ying!