Disclaimer: I do not own Card captor Sakura or any of its characters and places. It's all Clamps'. I just own the story I made up.
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It All Began With A Dream
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Chapter two: A fairy tale surprise
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The girl raised her head.
She thought she'd heard something. She waited a few seconds, listening to the sounds of the forest around her. Since nothing came, she got back to what she was doing: Collecting berries.
It had been a months already since she started living alone in a cottage in the middle of the woods. It was not far from the town, but the way wasn't easy, and it took her at least one hour to reach the first houses. So, she'd decided to spend most of her time in her little house, living with what she could find, and drinking from the nearby river. She soon found out that there was plenty of delicious fruits and berries, ready to be eaten, around in the forest. She just needed to find the good spots. And now she had one. Blueberries.
She picked up a few more and went back to the cottage.
It was placed in a clear spot of the forest. A cherry tree in full blossom had been planted ages ago by the former inhabitant, in front of it.
She entered. Everything was clean and the place was well decorated. The green-eyed maiden was a princess after all.
She placed her basket in the small kitchen and started washing the fruits. She was going to bake a cake. She had bought some ingredients in town, such as flour, sugar, eggs, vegetables, some meat, etc… She started making the biscuit when she heard it again. The same sound she'd heard when she was picking berries.
'It's probably the wind' she thought.
She feared it'd be a ghost. She was frightened by ghosts. The one to blame was her own brother, Toya. When she was five years old, he used to tell her that the ghost of their mom was somewhere around the castle.
A shiver went down her spine as she remembered these times when she had to sleep with her dad, because she was such a coward.
She put the pie in the oven and went under the porch. There was an old hammock she'd found in a cupboard. She laid in it and started reading a book she'd found in an old library in the attic.
The night had fallen on the kingdom. The girl had eaten her pie and finished her book. The old clock of the kitchen showed 8:30 p.m.
A yawn broke the silence of the night.
"I think I'm going to wash myself a bit" said the girl to no one but herself.
She stood up from the sofa and stretched up, letting another yawn escape from her pink lips. From the entire month she'd passed here, she hadn't heard about her family. She was starting to get worried and she promised herself to send a letter as soon as possible, even if she had to walk up to the post office.
She lit an oil lamp and went out. It was a magnificent night. Thousands of stars were shown, and the air was getting warm, due to the approach of summer.
The princess let out a giggle. She was happy to be there right now. In her palace, she could hardly see any stars. The lights of the city were covering them, plus, she wasn't allowed outside after sunset. Here she was… free!
Free!
She wasn't used to that word. She now realised it. He castle was a golden prison. She could never stretch her arms without being reminded of her manners. She couldn't wake up when she wanted, nor eat what she wanted. She'd have to talk about that to her father when she would return.
Filling her lungs with the wild air, she entered the pass through the forest. It leaded to the nearby river. The moonlight was bathing the woods in silver.
The auburn-haired girl could now hear the waterfall. She continued to walk forward until she saw the running water.
A cloud hid the moon. Everything was plunged into darkness.
The only light was the one coming from the girl's lamp.
She made her way carefully to the pool under the fall, her naked feet making almost no sound on the thick leave carpet. She finally arrived to the clearing.
The cloud had passed, the moon was shown.
The girl was taken aback from the beauty of the scene. She was afraid to make a move, not to break the moment.
The full moon was surrounded by stars, and thousands of droplets of water, hanging on the trees around, were reflecting its light, like little diamonds. The wind began to blow lightly, and the diamonds seemed to sparkle. The surface of the water was slightly wrinkled, reflecting the sky above it.
On the wet rocks of the shore, laid a boy.
A Boy!
The princess let out a gasp.
She studied his features.
His messy hair was encircling his head like an angel's halo, his long eyelids shadowing his knob. His perfectly shaped mouth was closed in a semi-smile that made him look peaceful.
He was handsome.
And he looked like he was sleeping. But was he?
A wolf's cry.
The fascinated moment was broken.
The girl snapped up to reality. She began to panic.
"Sweet heavens! Is he dead?"
She rushed by his side and, resting her head on his chest, searched for a heart beat.
There was one, but it was weak. Very weak. His body was as cold as death itself. If he stayed there any longer, he'd die.
The green-eyed girl calmed herself down. She would not let that happen. That boy would not die. She was going to save him.
Looking sweetly at him, she stroked his hair, washing a few that were covering his face away. Her eyes settled on his beautiful lips.
'I wonder if he'll kiss me one day…' she sighed in her mind. And then, realising what she just said, 'Wait! I did not think that!'
Her breathing was heavy, her white face flushed.
She began to draw the corpse outside the river, and trailed it back to the cottage, taking no breaks. She had to move fast.
There was only one bed in the only bedroom of the house, which was luckily on the first floor. She posed the boy on her bed and collapsed on the floor, trying to recover a normal breathing.
"God… he's…heavy…" she groaned loudly.
She stayed like that for a couple of minutes, before standing up again and arranging the bed's covers over the boy, so he won't die from pneumonia, due to his wet clothing.
She then climbed up in the attic and began searching the old boxes for some proper clothing. She found a few shirts, two pants, and a dozen of underwear's. She gathered her lucky find in her arms and went back to where the boy was lying. He hadn't made a movement since she left. He was still unconscious. By chance, the clothes the girl had found were dusty, but clean. She folded them expertly, and put them on the table next to the bed.
When she woke up the next morning, the first thing she saw was the guy. Still unconscious, his face was covered in sweat. He was turning and tossing, as if he was having a nightmare. The princess touched his forehead with her fresh hand. It was burning. The boy had a fever.
The girl's eyes grew anxious.
"What am I suppose to do?" she muttered.
She ran to the kitchen and moisturised her handkerchief and placed it on the burning forehead. The boy seemed to calm down a bit, but his breathing was still heavy. His chestnut hair was almost completely wet, and the auburn girl dried them a bit with a clean towel.
The day passed normally. The girl was occupied with her tasks such as collecting fruits, cleaning the house, cooking and taking care of the uninvited guest.
When she came to see him at night, she noticed that his fever had gone down, and so, she decided to change his clothes that were filthy with mud and sweat.
She started by taking of his shirt… Seeing his well built tanned chest, she felt like she was in trance. The surroundings of the house seemed to vanish. She couldn't take her eyes from him.
"God," she whispered "What is happening to me?"
She couldn't control her body anymore. She felt her hand moving, and she watched her fingers caress the body under her. The boy shivered at her soft touch. She closed her eyes in contentment.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. A firm hand had grabbed hers.
The boy had moved!
Was he awake?
Not quite.
'It was just a reflex' the emerald-eyed princess noticed, slightly disappointed.
But the boy didn't let her hand go. He was hanging on to it as if there was no tomorrow. He held the girl prisoner, in a way. Not wanting to disturb him, she let him hold her hand as long as he wanted. She rested her head on the border of the bed, and there she fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, a heart stopping cry woke her up. The boy had let go of her wrist and was talking in his sleep. Tears were running down his cheeks as he cried words in a foreign language. He held his hand in front of him, as if he wanted to grab something.
The girl's eyes began to water, as she watched the despaired boy crying. His tears were beautiful, and, not knowing why she did that, she took his trembling hand in hers and held it tight.
Immediately, he stopped moving and whimpering. Only small sobs were shaking his chest. After a moment, his breathing became even, showing he had peacefully fallen in a nice sleep again.
The princess continued to hold his hand until she felt her eyes slowly closing as she drifted into sleep.
In the morning, a weird something pressing on her lips woke her up. She slowly opened her eyes, to see…
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(A.N: Haha! I can be so evil sometimes! A cliff-hanger! Muahahaha! If you want to know what's next, you'll have to see in the next chapter. Don't worry, I won't do so many cliffys. It's just that I wasn't sure about what happen next… But I already have an idea. Please tell me what you think about my fic by reviewing or e-mailing. I reeaaaaaly would like to know! Thanks to all readers!)