Note: Not my best work. But perhaps next time it will be better. Please read and tell me what you think. Reviews liven the soul and from some parts of this chapter, it's obvious I need it.
Chapter Two: Secrets to Tell
The mists crouched around the soft carpet of moss on the woodland floor. The soft patches of grey swirled as hoofs broke the pre-dawn calm, scattering the creeping fog. The trees grew tall, the high canopy blocking the dim glow of twilight from the searching eyes of the chocolate haired boy on horseback. His eyes flitted from tree to tree, searching in vain for the source of the strange aura of the woods. This was no ordinary tree magic surrounding them. It had a different quality to it.
"They are fascinating aren't they?" Daidouji commented from his right, yawning slightly.
Li's amber eyes glanced at her, observing once more the obvious fact that she was not used to being up so early. Nor was Kinomoto, who, for all appearances, was herself asleep atop her own horse. He pondered that perhaps he should demand she ride with him until she awoke properly, but decided against it when he saw her tighten her hands on the reins and open her eyes briefly before nodding off once more. He rolled his eyes, exasperated.
"Her mother planted these trees," Daidouji commented, unable to see his eyes from her vantage point and so taking his silence for affirmation.
Li turned slightly to look at her. "Really? She must have spent a long time at it," he stated, awe creeping into his brusque voice. "Still, even if Kinomoto was born here...these trees shouldn't be this fully grown," he commented in an undertone.
"Thus the mystery. She started planting these shortly after they moved here, when Touya was only three. She came from a distant part of our country where there were forests and so worried that he would never see trees." Daidouji smiled. "More like it than not, I think she just missed them herself.
"She came from the same part of the country as I. It is a great distance from here and is not so far from the Great Capital itself."
"The Great Capital?"
"Hmm," he confirmed, "where our Sovereign lives. Though, to be blunt, it is only for the time being, as he grows old and obviously regrets the loss of his land."
"I did not know. I wasn't really positive there WAS a king since, there seems to be very little government of any sort," Daidouji sighed.
"Sadly. Still, please continue."
"Oh, yes. She didn't plant all the trees, of course. Some of them grew on their own from nut and acorn, but still, she spent years at it. The rest of the villagers, I hear, thought she was crazy. Back then, it was barely a village, no more than ten or eleven families. They called her insane to think that the trees would grow."
"But they did."
"Mmm-hmm. They grew faster than anyone could imagine and before Sakura was born there was a luscious forest surrounding the village, protecting it as it were. The villagers were mystified and began to whisper than she...had magic."
Li's eyebrows drew up, suddenly curious as to how the poor woman had died. It wasn't often that a small village would accept a woman suspected of having magic. "What did they do?"
"Nothing, actually. The rumours persisted, but not in a malicious manner. If she was helping trees grow, they had no complaint. Trees would attract people and help protect them from the worst of the Plain Storms, and so they call these woods Nadeshiko after her."
It would explain the nagging uncertain magical aura encompassing the trees, Li thought, before something occurred to him. "I understand that Kinomoto and her brother are orphans from what your mother told me. When did their mother die?"
Daidouji's eyes twinkled, glad that he had caught on to the subtly placed hint. "She died when Sakura was just a child of three."
"So why are the trees still growing?" Li asked, somewhat baffled.
"We aren't sure, really. Even more mystifying, the forest has actually expanded since she was lost to us, more than doubling in size. No one can account for it. As such, it is our favorite local mystery."
Li thought her words over for some time, peripherally noticing that the story had lasted almost the duration to the trip through the woods themselves. As approached the tree line, the light signaled dawn's quick approach. Not, for the first time, he pondered exactly how long the journey would be. No one could truly estimate how long it usually lasted somehow, but still he estimated it would last more than a fortnight. The thought was slightly daunting and Li sighed as they broke through the last of the woods, into the pale morning light of dawn's first break of Sol's yellow rays.
"Hoee?"
Li looked over to see the Kinomoto girl suddenly awake and at full attention. No longer did she hold the almost drugged look, but instead she seemed only slightly tired as if finally breaking free of a sleep spell. Jade eyes squinted in annoyance at the gradually brightening light and yawned.
"Good morning, Sakura," Daidouji chimed.
"Morning, Tomoyo. Morning, Li Xiao Lang," she giggled with the excitability of a child screaming out someone else's secret, stretching slightly.
Li reigned in his mare startled. "Why did you call me that?" he frowned.
Kinomoto grinned at him. "It's your name, isn't it? I call people by their names. Anything else would be silly...or rude."
Daidouji glanced back and forth between the two for a moment before smiling tremulously at Li. "I'm sorry if it offends you, but she means no harm by it."
Li's amber eyes stared at the Kinomoto girl, assessing something in her own jade ones for a long time before finally shaking his head and flicking the reins of his mare. Daidouji and Kinomoto smiled at each other and followed behind him a decent distance, chatting amiably after a moment's passage. Li's eyes developed a mind of their own and continuously glanced back at the girls, vaguely disturbed. He could not comprehend how she knew his real name, but from the look he had seen on Daidouji's face, it was undoubtedly a significant occurrence, and had definitely happened before.
Something told him, this journey, even with its hints of the unusual, went deeper than he thought. Much deeper.
"Tell me, Daidouji."
It was night, several hours after the suns had set once more. The familiar stars dotted the sky around the three rising moons. The night sky softly lit, guiding the travelers for sometime. At last Li, noting their tired faces, called for them to stop for the night and set up camp. Life touched the barren landscape in small spatters of green and brown, none of it growing above a foot in height. The hills grew in the distance, promising the sure return of green with the soaring mountains.
Li had spotted a small rock growth, only tall enough for a man to shelter some of the harsh night winds that plagued the desert, and only fully for perhaps two people edgewise. Still, it was better than nothing, so he motioned for them to head that way. Kinomoto was once more half asleep on her horse and had to be guided carefully along the way. Once awake, she was happy enough, though, to help set up camp. The quicker it was set up the quicker she might return to sleep.
And so she did. It was over her sleeping form that Daidouji and Li spoke quietly, themselves not quite able to lapse into the perfect sleep so easy for children. And, apparently, those far too like them.
Daidouji looked at Li for a moment, assessing whether or not to play dumb. However, the fierce look in the amber eyes told her that it was useless. "I can tell you what I know, but there are still many things I simply do not understand, even after all this time."
He nodded brusquely. "That's fine. Just tell me what happened this morning."
The raven haired beauty looked down at her toes, chewing on her lip unconsciously as she attempted to script what she had to tell him. "You can clearly see, just with a moment's glance that Sakura is different. I know yesterday Touya told you this, as well as venturing to say how she has a way of just knowing things." She put her hair behind one ear, keeping her eyes on her toes as if contemplating what colour she would paint them before sighing a little. "That is really only skimming the surface really. She can tell if a person is good or bad, just by looking at them it would seem. She will hear or see something long before anyone else even knows where to look. And, as you noticed, she has a way of knowing, absolutely knowing, things there is no way she would be able to know."
"Like my name," Li supplied, looking down at the sleeping girl with eyes filled with renewed interest.
"She's has been this way almost since she was born. Obviously, because of this, her brother has become overly protective of her. I must confess, I am much the same as well."
Li nodded distractedly, his thoughts elsewhere. "Thank you. Get some sleep, Daidouji. Tomorrow will be a long day as well."
"Goodnight, Li."
"Goodnight." He watched the moons rise, the largest, Luna, with it's soft greenish glow sitting in the sky between Tsuki, glowing blue, and Artemis, glowing faintly yellow, as he listened to Daidouji settle into her makeshift bed. He knew that he should sleep himself, but found that his mind was too chaotic. Li stared at the moons long into the night. Finally, he fell into his own sleep.
She sipped her tea calmly, her overtly authoritative nature mellowing upon the discussion's start. A far away look flooded over her eyes which usually measured everything with the sharp focus of a predator, or shopkeep. For a moment, these eyes rested on the cup in her delicate hands before flitting up to meet Li's.
"Nadeshiko, Sakura's mother, and I are distant cousins. Once upon a time we lived in the Great Capital with our Great-Grandfather. He was one of the Undying, but having married outside his clan, as well as his children, the blood ran thin and by the time she was sixteen, he was the only family she had, her parents having been taken from her by the Power a sun-cycle prior. And so, Great-Grandfather had been struck by the hope of finding her companionship to easy her lonliness."
"HOEEEEE!"
Li was forcibly dragged from his thoughts by the familiar sound he came to associate with day-break hitting Kinomoto flush in the face. He sighed internally as once again she greeted both of them by name (Li's full name in point of fact) and began to chatter like a small woodland creature with Daidouji. It was their daily routine, every morning the same, every afternoon, every evening, and, at last, the same night for the past few days passage. The only shift in the monotony were the foods they'd eat, the places they'd stop and the scenery that danced around them as it slowly shifted from sparse plains life unto lush mountain side.
The exasperated man was beginning to understand why no one could accurately gauge the duration of their journey. With everyday so perfectly mimicking the next, it was easy to see how the days could begin to blend into one long mass of time passed. However a small part of him looked forward to the day's passage. He had been assured by Daidouji that the next sunrise would bring a small village in their path.
Time couldn't pass fast enough.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Of course, while Great-Grandfather's eyes were elsewhere, seeking companionship for his beloved, and probably favorite grandchild, Nadeshiko managed to find companionship on her own.
"You see, Fujitaka was her private tutor. He was some eleven sun-cycles older than she and was amazingly, unmarried. It was love at first sight for both of them. They hadn't known each other six moon-cycles before he did the scandalous and proposed to her. She immediately accepted.
"No one accepted it. Myself included. I was furious with her for leaving me. I hated him for taking her," she sighed, "but not so long from then, I myself became engaged and grudgingly we all became friends. However, Great-Grandfather was not so sanguine. He still opposed their marriage fervently so they fled and my husband and I followed steadfastly behind."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Li stared at the girls as they giggled, bouncing between different stands. Fortuitously, for them at least, they had come into the village during something resembling a festival. Shopkeeps from surrounding villages brought their wares, and great foodstuff, for a three day long festival.
Daidouji and Kinomoto were in pure bliss.
Li couldn't wait to leave. The scene reminded him of his cousin and the thousand festivals and street carnivals she had dragged him to in the past. He sighed heavily. The whole situation was getting aggravating. The time before he reached this woman they were supposed to meet couldn't be short enough. Even his curiosity of the Kinomoto girl had fled after days of nothing from her to spark an interest once more. Once more, he sighed and finally mad the decision to press on. He had already replenished any supplies that needed tending to and the girls had been fluttering from stand to stand long enough. Thankfully they had sense enough not to complain when he told them it was time. Even so, it was going to be a long ride until camp.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Some would find it ironic that the very person Great-Grandfather had decided on for his granddaughter's new friend, was the first person she befriended on her own. Nadeshiko had, characteristically, tripped as she hurried down the road away from her home, falling to the ground on the hard road. Perhaps by coincidence alone, though we all tend to believe it was fate, she fell directly in front of your mother."
"Mother?"
"Mmm-hmm. Your mother was a beautiful girl even then. She immediately went to her knees to help Nadeshiko up. I can still remember the look in their eyes as they looked upon each other for the first time. A smile grew between them as if they had found at long last their old friend who had gone away many years before."
She smiled, nostalgia washing over the expression. "It was a happy moment indeed. Yelan didn't seem to need an explanation, which I'm sure you know already, and merely led the four of us to her grand estates. It was only then that I realized just who we had stumbled across."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
As night fell, their soft chatter slowed into sporadic questions and answers then melted into tired yawns. Finally, Li heard Kinomoto's snores float over his head and pulled reined in his mare. Usually he insisted they ride later into the night, but everyone was tired and couldn't hurt from a longer rest. He glanced back and signaled for Daidouji to head off towards a lone tree growing on the plain to settle down for camp.
Silently, they pulled out their bedding while Li started a small fire to cook the small allowance of meat he had bought earlier in the village. Kinomoto didn't bother to conceal her yawns as she waited for the meal to cook. Daidouji on the other hand, seemed alert enough as she pulled forth a length of cloth for what seemed to be another dress she was making for her friend. When at last the meal was done and they had finished eating, Kinomoto's green eyes suddenly glowed with renewed interest.
Li looked with bemusement between the girl and Daidouji's glowing amethyst eyes as she grinned slyly as Kinomoto began to root in her traveler's bag. It seemed that whatever she was looking for was hard to find in the relatively small bag. The two watched her, Li's bemusement slowly turning into a wry sense of amusement as the search seemed to go on and on past reason. At last, a small squeal of excitment came emerged from the huddle of girl and personal belongings.
The startled boy had to resist the urge to back up quickly as she pounced into the air directly before him. Bright jade eyes occupied the space only inches from his own amber ones, laughter and joy dancing about in their depths.
"Look, look, Li Xiao Lang! I have bought you a present!"
"A present?" Li stuttered. He couldn't remember anyone buying him a present without single cause in his life previous.
"Yes! I bought one for you. It told me to!"
"That's new," he replied, blinking. "What would this present be?"
The words had barely left lips when an object was thrust into his features. He cautiously took it from her finger tips and pulled it away from his face to focus in on the object. Ever so slightly, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"It's a wolf!" she grinned. He nodded, the same feeling washing over him as had on the first morning when she had told him his real name. "Aren't wolves wonderful?"
"I should think not!" Daidouji piped up from her place by the fire, her needle never wavering as she looked at the two kneeling across from each other.
"Silly Tomoyo! So many people silly. People hear of wolves and the grow afraid. They see a wolf and they are afraid," she nodded, locking eyes with Li in a way that could not be accidental. "But, I know the truth. The wolf is a gentle creature. He loves and protects those he loves fiercely but does not seek to harm anyone who should not be harmed. He is a noble creature, the wolf."
Li stared at her, taken aback. The significance of what she was saying could not be mistaken as simple childish ramblings. She knew each word coming from her mouth and precisely how it would be taken. She grinned at him one last time, before a yawn overtook her smile and she waved her fingers, signaling her decision to retire.
Daidouji wished him goodnight as well and followed her friend. Li didn't hear or acknowledge the goodnight wishes. His eyes were fixed to the stuffed toy in his hands, his thoughts dragged once more to the conversation so many nights before.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Your mother, as I'm sure you know, is a kind soul. She asked for no explanation and immediately offered us shelter, even though she had four girls of her own already, the youngest only a year old. Not that your establishment couldn't afford it. The lands are so huge. We were amazed to learn that it was only the smaller of your holdings," she chuckled.
"We immediately become great friends with your father as well. He was a fine gentleman. A great man, an excellent leader. He took to us instantly and when they were to move away from the Great Capital once more, he invited us to travel with them. As if we were part of the clan as well.
"It was paradise, far more simple and beautiful than anything we had known. It was lush with magic, even when none was in the workings. I can't remember a time when we were happier than when we were with your family. Nadeshiko was in love with your home and Yelan and she the fastest of friends, despite their polar personalities.
"Not long after we arrived, it became apparent that Nadeshiko was increasing. Yelan immediately let her know, per request, that she was expecting a boy, Touya as it were." Sonomi stopped and smiled. "She spoke of you then."
"Me?" asked, somewhat baffled.
"Yes, you. She had known that one day, not knowing which, she would have a young boy child. She already knew your name, Xiao Lang. She thought it over for many years and at last came to the perfect name, she said. It was a name for someone noble, strong, loving and fiercly protective. Her son."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The words echoed in his mind restlessly. His eyes finally detached from the stuffed toy in hand to flit over to the not-so-young girl sleeping soundly. Her mysteries were once more beginning to unfold an catch his curiosity. He still couldn't spot what he thought was lurking somewhere beneath the childlike eyes.
Nor was he ready for what he would eventually find.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
He couldn't say what woke him up. Something, a feeling, caressed his mind, flicking against his aura until at last he was dragged into consciousness. Confused, he glanced at the sleeping figure beside him. Figure. Where had Kinomoto gone to? he wondered as he quietly slipped out of his make shift bed, careful to not wake the exhausted Daidouji.
As he glanced around, he thought he saw a figure in the dark night. While the had slept, clouds had crept up from the horizon to encompass the entire night sky, forcing Li to rely on his superb, but still limited, night sight. Slowly, he approached, gradually discerning her shadowed outline against the horizon. Relaxing slightly he stopped and began to inspect her figure. Vague shadows lengthened as the clouds began to dissipate, letting the soft moon light through. The glow enveloped her and caused him to gasp.
The long honeyed hair glinted almost silver in the light, her upturned face shone porcelain and her eyes reflected the stars in the endless night. At the soft sound, she turned her head to look at him. For a long moment, her eyes glanced over his form. Then she smiled, the sort of smile never seen on her face before, and turned back to her stars. She gazed up with such longing, it seemed as if her soul would leave for the heavens right then and there.
Li stood shocked for a moment then walked towards her slowly. When he drew even with her, she turned to smile at him again, blushing slightly. "Why aren't you asleep, Kinomoto?" His voice was hesitant, unsure of what precisely was happening.
"Hmm, they woke me up, Xiao Lang. They woke me up and called to me." She smiled again.
Li could almost swear that he saw a hint of flirtation in the smile and the way she looked down for a moment and then back up to meet his eyes. But he knew it was impossible. "What woke you up?"
"The stars, the moon. It happens sometimes, not often, but sometimes. Then I wake up, me." She turned to look back at the stars sighing slightly in awe.
Li wasn't going to begin to ask her what she meant. It simply didn't cross his mind. Instead his mind was racing at the dramatic change in her demeanor. She held herself up differently; her voice had lost the child-like tone. He was even pretty sure her eyes could SEE differently than the way they had hours before. For the first time in his life, Li was unsure of what to do. He simply stared.
Sensing his eyes on her, Kinomoto turned to face him. As she did, the clouds once again enveloped the night sky, thrusting them into complete darkness once more. "We should probably get a little more sleep before it is time to wake up."
Li nodded, oblivious to the idea that it was pitch black and she probably couldn't see him. "I'll lead you back," he said, turning to go back to where Daidouji was sleeping peacefully. He had only taken a step when she grabbed his hand and pulled him back around to face her. He briefly pondered how she could discern his hand so quickly in the overwhelming darkness, but that thought was almost instantly thrown aside when she acted in a way that shocked him to his core.
She kissed him.
It was an innocent kiss, almost. The kind a girl her age might give to a boy she likes but is unsure of. But it was still a kiss, and not even a particularly short one at that. She pulled back at last and grinned up at him.
"Find me."
"H-huh?" was the sophisticated reply.
"Find me. Now you know I'm here. Find me." She grinned audaciously as she whispered the last two words. Then, as if she had been hit on the head, she collapsed. Li's instincts reacted before his mind did, fortunately, and caught her before she hit the ground.
"Kinomoto...Kinomoto!" he whispered fervently, shaking her gently.
Her eyes flit open, fluttering in quick succession before she stood up of her own power. She looked at him, her face overcome by confusion. "How did I get here?" she asked, once again talking in her child-like voice. "I must have been sleep walking again," she giggled. "I'm sorry, Xiao Lang."
A cold shiver ran down his spine at the reverted look in her eyes. For a moment, he wondered if they had both been sleep walking but knew it was a foolish thought. For a few minutes, she had changed. Completely. "Uh, no problem, Kinomoto. Go back to bed before you wake up Daidouji."
She nodded exuberantly and slipped between the sheets of her bedding, quickly falling asleep once more. Just as a child would.
Li stared at her long and hard before finally returning to bed himself. Something was definitely odd about that girl. She was far more than she seemed, even more than Daidouji could have guessed. And he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to find out just how deep those 'gifts' went inside the young woman. With a sigh, he rolled over, away from the enigmatic woman/child and closed his eyes with all the determination to sleep.
Meanwhile, two amethyst eyes were stretched wide with disbelief at the things she had just overheard.
I do not own these characters.