Misty Dreams

Chapter Nine

Card Captor Sakura

*starjade*

A Lady

" Queen Yelan Li! We have just gotten word about Princess Meiling!" A messenger came running in, breathless.

The Queen stood up quickly, her eyes shining. " What information did you receive, messenger?"

The messenger looked sad and everyone's hearts were leaping into their throats. " Rather bad news, your highness. Are you sure-"

" I want to hear it!" The Queen said, snappishly, but you could tell that she was quite worried.

" Alright..." The messenger cleared his throat. " There has been news by a neighbouring village that Li Meiling has been spotted...yet not alive."

A hush fell across the castle's occupants and the Queen was white. " Wh-What?" Queen Yelan asked, her voice shaky.

" Meiling had been seen in the possession of the wilds in the woods. She was dead, pale and ghastly, lying on what seemed like a burial cloth. They knew it was her because of the Li necklace she wore. Her hair had been spread out in a fan and no blood could be seen on her, but there was no pulse either. The Wilds came back for her and that was the last they ever saw-"

" STOP!" The Queen yelled. The castle was silent and all you could hear was ragged breathing from more than one royal and crying heard from some of the ladies.

The messenger bowed his head. " That is all, your highness."

The Queen nodded faintly at him and he turned away, walking fast out the doors. Queen Yelan stared at everyone for a few seconds before turning and walking away, her cape swirling out behind her.

Sakura was still shocked, her eyes wide and big. No, Meiling couldn't have died! She was too strong and she wouldn't have given up!

Sakura turned and walked slowly back to her room. She sat beside her unfinished weaving and Kero came up to her, laying his head on her lap. She absentmindedly stroked his fur as she thought deeply.

There was a knock at the door and Sakura got up to open it. Syaoran nearly fell into the doorway.

" Keili....it couldn't...it couldn't have been true!" Syaoran gasped.

Sakura looked down sadly and looked back at him. It had to be true. Yamazaki had even told her that Meiling had been taken by The Wilds. It was true. Syaoran saw the expression on her face and shook his head, desperately.

" No, remember what the messenger said? They recognised her...by her necklace. The one that you have," Syaoran said, firmly.

Sakura looked up at him sharply. Could that be true?

Sakura shook her head, trying to rid herself of that inkling of hope. No...no.....messenger right.

Syaoran stared at her, almost pleadingly. " No, he has to be wrong. How is he right? The necklace wasn't with her!"

Sakura tried to motion with her hands about the fact that she was seen with the Wilds but he didn't understand her. She clasped her hands tight in her lap and Syaoran paced back and forth in front of her.

" I have to go get her...I have to go find her..." Syaoran was murmuring under his breath and Sakura looked up sharply. He couldn't leave her! Otherwise if he did, then the castle would-

Well, she couldn't be selfish. Meiling was in true danger and she was thinking about herself.

Syaoran looked up at Sakura, with pained eyes and coughed, clearing his throat. " Look, I've got to go practice in the courtyards....just....just stay tight, alright?"

Sakura nodded, a bit confused as he walked out of the door and closed it tightly. She stared at the weaving she was doing. She had done about half of the fourth shirt and then there would only be two left. She was closer to having the shirts done....

She needed to finish them quickly, by the end of the year at least. Too many dangers...first, she was staying at the LI castle....second, the Duke was suspicious of her...and third, Oribia was still after her. And the biggest danger was her brothers couldn't survive in their swan form for too long...

Sakura grabbed her weaving and opened the door to get out. She gasped as she saw Syaoran still standing outside her door, his back to her. His bangs were hiding his eyes and his shoulders were tensed with worry and anger. He didn't notice her as he breathed hard, his shoulders rising up and down as he fought to control himself.

Sakura felt her heart melt with concern for Syaoran. He was under so much stress. Meiling was just pronounced dead, he was the sole heir to an entire Kingdom, he had to put up with ridicule for having a Kinomoto in the kingdom, treated kindly of all things and the stress of having to get married...

Wanting to comfort him, she raised her palm and placed it on the back of his neck. His skin was warm and her whole body tingled, straight from her palm to the tips of her toes. Her breath was taken away from her but it had an opposite effect on Syaoran. He jerked away from her, eyes wide with anger, ferocity, sadness and another emotion she couldn't define.

" Please...Don't touch me..." he said raggedly, panting. Sakura stared at him in shock as he backed away from her slowly before turning and running down the corridor, away from her.

Sakura stared after her. Something was wrong with Syaoran...and she needed to find out what it was.

**********************************

Sakura clenched the sides of the table hard. She really did not need to hear ANY of this.

" There were twenty of them, stupid as they were ugly! They were talking in that strange, monkey like language of theirs and waving sticks, something they call swords at us. There were five of us, dressed like true warriors, holding swords bigger than any of them and we cut them down, five against twenty and they all went down, pleading for their mothers..."

Sakura grimaced. Duke Jel Tyran found these stories amusing. How could he? The ladies of the Li castle hung onto every word, every so often, glaring at her like it was all her fault. She stayed as far away from him as she possibly could, but it didn't matter. He spoke loudly and brashly at the dinner table and more than once, she tapped Yamaki to ask if she could leave, but he always murmured that it would seem rude.

Rude! Leaving the table was rude?? How about guffawing about massacring Kinomotos??

Sakura tried to calm herself down. First he spoke to her without a thought, telling her that she was a whore and a slut like she would somehow just take it and back down. Then he had assaulted her, twice. Now...she couldn't explain it. Her anger against him was near to the anger she felt against Oribia.


She looked up, feeling sick. She couldn't eat and so she sat, sipping water. Her eyes trailed around the table and met with Syaoran's. He had been staring at her and quickly looked away as soon as their eyes met, his face turning red. Sakura looked at him concernedly. Maybe he was getting sick?

" Ah hem!" Duke coughed. " May I have your attention please?"

The table instantly silenced and Sakura set down her glass, her heart sinking. He was watching her, blood red eyes smirking. He was up to something.

" What do you want to speak about?" Syaoran asked, barely masked annoyance peeking through his expression.

The duke grinned innocently. " I just wanted to entertain you all with a little story I heard when I was out on Kinomoto lands with the soldiers. It is rather an interesting tale...and I'm sure that to some, they might be quite familiar with it."

Sakura could feel his eyes on her, and she looked down at her lap. She really did not need this...

Syaoran was studying the Duke, trying to figure out his intentions. " Alright," He said finally. " Tell us, Duke Jel Tyran. What is this 'interesting' story you have for us?"

The Duke coughed once more. Sakura noticed, as she had before, that whenever he spoke, he had a commanding voice. People listened to him. And that was more of a bad thing in her case than it was good.

The Duke got out of his chair and began to walk back and forth. " The Kinomotos are our enemies. Every Li has that written in their blood. We live, fighting Kinomotos and we'll die fighting Kinomotos. They are our rival, our blood enemy and our other half...our dark side."

Sakura could feel the glares that were coming her way, but a warning glance from Syaoran stopped them all. She could feel the fury at having a Kinomoto at the royal Li table rising and she tried to sink into her chair. If they only knew what kind of Kinomoto they had at their table, Sakura thought miserably.

" Yet as every pure hearted soldier knows, the Kinomoto land is a strange land. Full of magic, some people say. Some others say the forests are filled with old spirits. Some others say that it's all just foolery. Yet I'm here to tell you that there is magic in the Kinomoto lands. And this magic...worked against them in the best way possible."

Sakura clenched her fists underneath the table. Please don't, she thought furiously. Please don't let him know...

" The Royal Kinomoto family. They were a happy family. A loving husband, a loving wife. Six-no seven children. Six boys and one girl. Yet one day, the mother was struck ill. She died, leaving the husband to raise those seven children, soon to be princes and princesses, all by himself."

The table nodded. They already knew this. Sakura's nails were digging a groove in her palm and she winced as the Duke's gaze rested on her.

" One day, as the boys grew into men and the girl into a beautiful woman, the King decided to marry once more. He married a woman who was very kind and partial to the King's children. Yet the children hated their kindly new mother and plotted against her. The magic of the Kinomoto forests did not like that. So one day, all the princes and princesses disappeared. Poof. Gone without a trace. They say the princess is still alive, searching for a way to save her brothers. Yet her brothers....no one has seen a trace of them to this day."

There was a silence around the whole table. One woman whispered, " Good riddance," While another whispered, " That's so sad. To have your children ripped away from you like that."

The Duke suddenly said loudly, " Well, we do have our own little Kinomoto here. Keili, that's her. I'm sure you're quite familiar with this story....aren't you?"

Sakura froze as the table's occupants swivelled around and stared at her. She flushed hard and glared at the Duke as he smirked at her. " I'm sure you have brothers you care about in your homeland. Wouldn't it kill you to have them ripped apart from you, spending years searching for a way to save them?"

Sakura's head was pounding. She hated Duke Jel Tyran...with a passion.

He laughed, his voice sinister. " It's what you call Karma. The Kinomotos had it coming. Now without the 'six powerful brothers' protecting those Kinomoto lands...its all free now. All free to attack and finally conquer those monster like Kinomotos. Right, my Li people?"

" RIGHT!"

There was hooting and cheering after that and the Duke sat down, satisfied. Sakura was breathing hard and got up silently and walked out of the room, shaking, not even noticing how Syaoran's eyes followed her out of the room.

**********************

" He never stops crying! Sometimes it gets tiring, but I never let the nurses tend to him. He's MY baby! I'll feed him!" Tomoyo said firmly.

Sakura smiled at her and shook her head as she turned back to her sewing, wincing as a needle pierced her as soon as she touched the patch of starwort. Grimacing, she took hold of the patch and sewed it together with the other one, trying to be neat with the stitches.

Tomoyo watched her , that familiar pain in her eyes. " Keili, don-"

Sakura shook her head fiercely and Tomoyo sighed. " Fine. I won't say anything. I just don't want to see you torturing yourself like this."

Sakura smiled, softly and her eyes flitted to the ladies in the court who were also sitting and talking or doing embroidery. Many of them were watching her and there was a clear space around Tomoyo and Sakura. Glares, rude comments, even sometimes a spit or two ( which was very unladylike, Tomoyo pointed out) was thrown at Sakura.

As hard as it may be to believe, Sakura had almost gotten used to it.

" Well, this-" Tomoyo held up half finished baby shoes, " is almost finished. Aren't they going to look absolutely adorable on my baby?"

Sakura nodded, grinning at the glow that emanated from Tomoyo. Tomoyo was absolutely thrilled at the arrival of her baby and never stopped talking about the adorable little boy.

Suddenly, a lady came rushing in, screeching, " Lady Rita is here! She's here!"

There was a gasp among the ladies and many smirks were pointedly directed at Sakura as everyone began to rush out of the courtyard. Sakura looked around confusedly, and looked at Tomoyo for help. Tomoyo's face had whitened.

Sakura touched Tomoyo's arms with one of her puffy hands, questioningly. Tomoyo smiled at her, though it was a bit weak.

" I hate these visits," Tomoyo groaned.

Sakura looked at her with a question in her eyes and Tomoyo sighed. " Remember when I told you that Syaoran was engaged? Well that lady is here. Right now. About to reign over us once more with her prissiness and lady like demeanour." Tomoyo rolled her eyes as she said this.

Sakura's heart was sinking, considerably. Why, she didn't know, but she felt a sudden anger towards Lady Rita.

She isn't worthy of Syaoran, she thought angrily. Then she took hold of herself. Why was she saying that? She hadn't even MET Lady Rita! For all she knew, she could be a nice, kind, generous, beautiful lady and Syaoran was probably in love with her...

That did nothing to cheer her up and only depressed her even more.

" Let's go, Sakura," Tomoyo sighed. " We're going to have to meet her anyways. Let's just go meet her with the other ladies and maybe she won't notice us much." There was definite sarcasm in her voice and Sakura knew exactly what she was talking about.

Everyone noticed the little, dingy Kinomoto that Syaoran had dragged across the border to live with them. And there was little change that Lady Rita would 'overlook' that fact.

*************

Sakura wrung her hands behind her back as she stood at the back of the crowd of ladies and gentlemen of the castle. Tomoyo had made her wear the dress that was better than her work dress, the one she had worn when she had met Duke Jel Tyran.

She just hoped this meeting wouldn't have the same results.

She kept her eyes lowered to the floor, so that Lady Rita, whoever she was, wouldn't notice her as fast. Soon, however, she could hear a high, lovely voice talking.

" I heard there was a.....Kinomoto living here as well. Where is she?" The voice was saying.

Sakura groaned. Of course. This just had to happen.


None to gently, Sakura felt herself being pushed towards the centre of the crowd. There was silence and Sakura kept her hands behind her back and her eyes to the floor.

Maybe she would just say a quick 'Hi!' and leave Sakura alone?

" So this is the Kinomoto..." The voice said, slowly.

Sakura felt curiosity get the better of her and looked up carefully. She was a beautiful woman...no doubt about that. Angelic brown gold curls cascaded down her back. Wide, cerulean blue eyes blinked at her curiously. Rose pink lips smiled at her and her pale skin was set off nicely with the peach colour gown she was wearing.

Sakura never felt so drab in her life. All she was wearing was a single wool dress that was patched up in some places and hung on her non-existent curves. Her hands were swollen, purpled and full with needles and her hair tangled and messy. She was a thin stick, her hair limp and her skin pale. .


Why am I comparing myself with her, Sakura thought furiously as Lady Rita looked Sakura over. It's not like it matters that she is gorgeous. Why should I care?

" What happened to your hands?" Lady Rita asked, a bit of surprise coming into her musical voice.

Sakura flushed and Tomoyo quickly explained, " She makes shirts out of starwort for a purpose yet unknown, but quite important."

Lady Rita nodded, her golden curls falling over her shoulder. Sakura could hear the many sighs of the gentlemen and knights of the court and she winced. Did Syaoran fall all over like these men did? Did he worship the ground she walked on?

It's not like I blame him, Sakura thought sullenly. She is absolutely perfect.

Lady Rita walked up to her, her eyes connecting straight with Sakura's, not letting her go. " What is your name?" She whispered softly.

Sakura bit her lip but she couldn't break eye contact. Once again, Tomoyo answered for her. " Her name....well, the name we gave her is Keili."

Lady Rita's perfect eyebrows rose. " Why doesn't she speak for herself? And what do you mean, the name we gave her?"

Tomoyo looked uncomfortable. " Well, Keili doesn't speak. We don't know why either. All we know is that Syaoran stumbled upon her while on his....quest, and she saved his life. He brought her here because she was homeless and he owed her a great deal."

The Lady's eyes grew clouded. " Prince Li would never do that..." She turned her eyes back to Sakura's. " You must mean quite a deal to Prince Li."

" Ha!" Someone in the crowd snorted. " It's only because she bewitched him!"

" A foul Kinomoto peasant!" Another one crowed. " Ugly as she is barbaric."

Sakura's fists clenched but she didn't say anything. Suddenly, someone burst through the doors and Lady Rita's eyes brightened considerably.

" Prince Li!" She said blissfully. " Oh Prince Li! How I missed you!"

Sakura turned around and looked. Syaoran stood there, dressed in his finest as Lady Rita ran into his arms. The crowd oohed and aahed, many sneering at Sakura with what seemed like triumph on their faces as Sakura watched the perfect couple, her heart sinking.

a/n: Wat! Lady Rita is in da house! Wat ya think gonna happen next? I dunno, i haven't exactly written the next chapter yet, so it could be anything! Ppl, send in suggestions aight? Thanks everyone for reviewing! And sorry to that person who said I swore too much in this story... for me, it sort of heightens the affect on the readers when you read it, cause what kind of prince swears? Only when their really angry, rite?

Aight, see ya latez,

*starjade*