Disclaimer: I don't own CCS
ChiChi's Note: Okay! This story is off hold! It took me a while to get back into this, but I think I managed to pull it off. Okay Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Li Kingdom Refuge
Tomoyo and Eriol came to Chikara after their little battle. Nakuru was very happy to see them, but king Adrien seemed to feel differently. They were at the stables preparing to leave for Rosuto Daidouji. Eriol was trying to drag the horses out of their settlement.
December 1rst
I went to see my wife, Teresse, in the Daidouji Kingdom. She is the queen's chambermaid. I find it quite humorous that the two of them got pregnant around the same time. I used my magic to see our child. I will not tell Teresse, but it's a boy! I cannot wait to be a father. I will teach my son all the magic that I know.
This morning I met with the queen and king. They spoke of plans for a new kingdom. Rosuto Daidouji. I was intrigued by their plan. Only people with magic from the Daidouji lineage can open the portal to Rosuto Daidouji. The portal remains in the queen's tower, so only one who works in the palace would know where it is. Teresse is a Daidouji so she knows where it is. Daidouji magic is very fascinating. They dance to use their magic. I see people in graveyards dancing to contact their ancestors, and they keep dancing to keep them there as they speak. The magic must use a great amount of energy in order to keep the spirits there. I have a feeling that my son will be a great sorcerer. He's half Li so he will be strong, and he's half Daidouji so he will be able to control magic without tiring.
"That is the second entry I believe," Eriol stared at the page.
"You're half Daidouji," Tomoyo read, "That's odd, I don't remember seeing you."
Eriol flipped the pages to another entry, "Here."
October 23It has been four years since my son has been brought to this world. I once again visited the Daidouji Kingdom to see my family and for business. I met with Sir Mizuki again and discussed our little arrangement. I told Eriol about it and he accepted it. We were to move to the Li kingdom until he becomes of age, he will marry Sir Mizuki's daughter, Kaho. Kaho and Eriol seem to admire each other so I see no dilemma, except for their age. There is a nine years difference between the two. This marriage is the only way for our families to live in peace with each other.
Tomoyo closed the book and glanced at Eriol, "You're betrothed?"
Eriol shook his head, "Not anymore. The entire Mizuki family died in the attack on the Daidouji Kingdom."
Tomoyo sighed, 'Why did the Li Kingdom decide to destroy the Daidouji Kingdom? What did they do to deserve it?' Eriol finally managed to pull the two horses out of the stable, "Ready to go?"
Tomoyo nodded and mounted the horse. It would be a very long journey to the ruins of the Daidouji Kingdom.
…Li Kingdom Refuge…
Odelette, Meilin, and Sakura walked into the small town. Everyone was giving Odelette the evil eye. "I think my appearrrance eez verrry upsetting to some of zee villagerrrs," Odelette sighed.
"Well I have no gold to fix it," Meilin shrugged, "Do you Sakura?"
Sakura shook her head, "I lent it all to Tomoyo."
Meilin scanned the crowd. She saw a group of musicians sitting by a fountain, "I suppose we could earn the money."
The three of them walked up to the musicians. "Good afternoon! Can you please play some fast music for me to dance to? I'll give you three fourths of the profit," Meilin asked them.
Sakura and Odelette gave Meilin a worried look. "Don't worry, it will be enough," Meilin pulled a fan out of a pouch in her dress and began to dance.
The fast rhythm of the music drew the attention of the crowd; Meilin's dancing attracted many men. Meilin swished her fan around gracefully then suddenly she lowered it and gave one violent swoosh towards the ground. A great gust of wind blew across the ground and slowly lifted her as she danced. Amazingly, she was dancing on thin air! "How did she do that?" Sakura asked Odelette.
"Oh, she uh, a voler zee fan frrrom a merrrshant frrrom 'er village," Odelette shrugged.
"Huh?" Sakura tried to figure out what Odelette just said, "She something the fan from a something from her village?"
"Voler! To take somesing frrrom someone," Odelette explained, "Et merrrshant, a perrrson who sells items."
"Oh, steal and merchant!" Sakura nodded, "Odelette, do you want me to teach you how to speak better English?"
Odelette pondered for a second. It would be nice if she did learn proper English, and she could do it quickly. Sakura's father always said that it was easier to learn things when you were young. "Okay," Odelette answered.
The music stopped and a loud applause followed. Meilin curtsied to the crowd while they threw large amounts of gold at her feet. No wonder Meilin was the queen's favourite dancer.
…Li Kingdom…
"Damn Eriol!" Syaoran shouted pulling on some dry clothes, "Mother, if I did not promise you that I wouldn't kill him; he would have been dead so long ago."
He grabbed his sword and attached it back around his waist. He left his chambers and went down the hall. He stopped halfway down the hall and turned to one of the pictures on the wall. It was of Eriol and Syaoran when they were young. He loathed Eriol for betraying him. How dare he help that Chikarain? One of his soldiers ran up to him and saluted, "Sir, we have located the three girls. They are in the refuge."
Syaoran nodded. The soldier waited patiently awaiting the next command. "I shall be coming with you," Syaoran nodded.
He saw a line of maids bringing many items such as portraits, books, and porcelain vases. "Which kingdom are these from?" Syaoran pointed at the unfamiliar items.
"They are from a town we raided in Chikara, sir," the soldier informed.
Syaoran stopped one of the maids carrying a vase. The maid looked at him, terrified. "May I borrow this for a second?" Syaoran gave her a polite smile.
"Um, er… Yes your grace!" she handed him the vase then curtsied.
Syaoran walked back to the soldier, "This is such an exquisite vase, do you agree?"
The soldier nodded unsurely. "It's probably a family heirloom of some sort. These Chikarains have excellent taste," Syaoran tapped the vase, "What is this kind of glass?"
"It is frosted glass. The rarest kind in Japan," the maid answered.
Syaoran nodded then threw the vase against the picture of him and Eriol. "You," he pointed at his soldier, "I shall be going to the refuge alone. I want you to find that girl who was with Hiiragizawa and I want you to bring her to me."
The soldier nodded, "Yessir!"
Syaoran turned to leave, "Oh yes, one more thing. Leave Hiiragizawa alive. It's the last thing the queen requested."
"I shall depart now then sir," the soldier marched down the hall.
Syaoran went down to the stables. The refuge was only a few minutes away.
…Li Kingdom Refuge…
Odelette abandoned her white clothes and changed into black noble clothes. Now they were staying in a pub that stayed by the sea. Odelette and Sakura walked out onto the beach and began practicing saying the letter H. "Hello Sakurrra, how are you?" Odelette practiced and Sakura would try not to laugh.
She always emphasized the H whenever she spoke. "Wherrre eez Meilin?
Sakura looked around the pub. She could have sworn that Meilin was with them a second ago.
…Somewhere in the Refuge…
Meilin stood before a bronze statue of queen Yelan. The plaque at her feet said, May her kindness pass through her generations. The statue showed a kind looking woman sitting on a chair with the young Syaoran resting his head on her knees. 'You're kindness did pass on to Syaoran, my queen. He's just showing it in the wrong way,' Meilin looked at the plaque again. There was a sphere-shaped recess in one of the letters. She took out her element orb and placed it into the recess. Meilin was disappointed, "Nothing," she muttered.
Suddenly, a flash of light exploded from the plaque. Slowly, Meilin's energy grew fainter until she finally passed out.
…Nearby…
Sakura and Odelette searched the refuge for Meilin, but there was no sign of her. There was a large crowd gathering. Sakura and Odelette tried to see what happened but the crowd was too thick. Sakura tried squeezing her way in but eventually got pushed out of the crowd knocking over a man who was slightly older than her. "I'm sorry sir, let me help you up," Sakura extended her hand to the man.
The man looked curiously at her hand, "That is a beautiful bracelet princess."
"H-how did you know that I was a princess?" Sakura withdrew her hand but it was too late.
The man grabbed Sakura's arm and quickly placed a dagger at her neck. "Now listen up princess," the man began, "You give us your bracelet or else you die."
"Us?" Sakura repeated searching for more people.
The man sniggered as 20 men marched up behind him with their swords drawn. Odelette saw what was going on and ran towards the group of men,shouting something out in French. Sakura did not understand what she said, but she was most likely protecting Sakura. The men stared at her for a second then all bowed their head, "Mademoiselle Odelette," they said in unison.
Odelette glared at the men, "What arrre you men doing?"
The man removed the blade from Sakura's neck, "Orders of king Adrien. Recover the element orbs from the Li Kingdom."
"Nonsense, King Adrien would neverrr orderrr such a thing!" Odelette shouted.
"We have orders to relieve the bracelets from the owners, kill the dancer and princess, then return you to Chikara where you will lead the armies to victory."
"Sir! The dancer has no bracelet!" another man ran up to him.
The men began to bicker in French, and with great impatience, Odelette grabbed one of the men's sword and began killing off every man in sight. Sakura's jaw dropped. Odelette fought with such amazing technique. Not even the Kinomoto soldiers fought like that. After killing ten men in seconds, the other men retreated behind their leader. "This is treason mademoiselle Odelette!" the leader shouted.
"It eez not trrreason. You arre nothing but Chikarain outsiderrrs," Odelette frowned.
"Chikarain outsiders or not, they are still filthy Chikarains," a voice spat.
The men began to quiver with fear as they saw king Syaoran walk out of the dark alley. Odelette saw Syaoran and kneeled before him. "Mademoiselle! You dare bow before this monster?" the leader demanded.
"He deserrrves ourrr respect," Odelette murmured.
Syaoran drew his sword, "Pray for your lives because if I even find one scratch on the girl your lives will be gone in an instant."
The leader refused to release Sakura, "Fine then, but we will be taking the orbs."
Syaoran glared at the leader and with one flick of the wrist, his head was removed. The men looked down at their fallen leader. "Do any of you worms share the same objectives as your so-called leader?" Syaoran demanded.
They all shook their heads and fled for their lives. Sakura sigh with relief and fell to the ground. She felt so scared and confused. Syaoran glared at the people from the crowd who were staring. "As you were," Syaoran commanded.
The people scurried back to their shops revealing Meilin lying unconsciously on the ground. Syaoran approached the unmoving body and looked up at the statue. "Look to the beginning," he spoke softly.
Sakura stared at Syaoran. She wanted to know what was going on in his head. Her bracelet began to emit heat once more; it was urging her to speak with him. 'But… he deserves to be alone…' Sakura told herself, '…just for now.'
They carried Meilin into the pub and brought her in a room on the higher floor. Sakura and Odelette stayed at her side. Syaoran told them that he refused to stay in a room with useless girls. "I think he eez just rrridiculous!" Odelette shrieked.
"One R," Sakura told her distractedly.
Odelette nodded, "Rrr… rr. Right!
Sakura smiled at Odelette and moved over to the window. She saw the beach and it was so tempting to run in the water. But it was nighttime and the waves could knock her unconscious. Her eyes looked down at a crowd of trees. The trees all bent awkwardly outwards. She remembered Touya telling her that if the trees bent outwards there would be a little spring inside. "Odelette, I'm going for a walk okay?" Sakura headed for the door.
"And what eef zee king comes?" she enquired.
"Tell him the truth," Sakura smiled.
…Ruins of the Kinomoto Kingdom…
Eriol and Tomoyo came to a halt at her old home. "This is the second one that I couldn't protect," tears were welling up in her eyes.
"It wasn't your fault," Eriol stated.
"I won't let Chikara fall," Tomoyo rode off, "It's almost like a third home to me."
"Do you even know why Syaoran decided to declare war upon them?" Eriol rode after her.
"Because they had an element orb?" Tomoyo guessed.
"No, it's because-"
"Well I'm sure that it wasn't a good reason. I mean our kingdom did nothing to the Li Kingdom and you attacked us. Supposedly, you kidnapped Chikara's head arms woman and killed the queen. There was this rumour that the arms woman was a young girl."
"Fine then," Eriol gave up, "Which ever side you choose, I'll fight along with you."
Tomoyo smiled, "Thank you."
…Li Kingdom Refuge…
Sakura walked through the crowd of trees and smiled at the small at the spring. She looked around for men who may be sneaking around and saw no one, but to be safe, she left her dress on and walked in the water. By the time she was hip deep in it, she heard someone's footsteps. She shrugged, 'As long as they do not bother me, I'm fine.' She dove into the water and closed her eyes. She wondered how long she could hold her breath for… Apparently very long. She rose to the surface and sighed. The water was perfect for swimming in. "Girl. You should not stay in there all night," a voice came from far away.
Sakura turned to the voice, "But you highness, the water is very relaxing. Come in, it's fun!"
"I do not take orders from mindless girls like you," Syaoran rolled his eyes.
"It is not an order your grace, it is a request," Sakura smiled.
"Well, I do not wish to heed your request girl."
"Sakura," she corrected.
"Girl," he argued.
"As you wish," Sakura giggled.
How long was she going to put this act up for? Why wouldn't her bracelet activate? Maybe there was a trick to activating it… but what was it? She swam up to Syaoran and removed his sword, throwing it on the ground. "What are you doing," he fumed.
"It wouldn't be fair if you got to miss such a fun experience," Sakura grabbed his ice-cold hands and pulled him into the water.
"I do not wish to have any of your 'fun experiences,'" Syaoran growled.
"Do you know how to swim?" Sakura asked.
"Yes."
"Then stop complaining. Forget about being a cold, ruthless king for once and just have fun!"
Syaoran opened his mouth to protest but Sakura was able to drag him under the water. She looked at him glaring at her then rose to the surface pulling him with her. "Have you ever tried smiling before?" she asked.
"I do smile," Syaoran snapped.
"No," she shook her head, "Not like mean smile, like when you're having fun um, killing people, I mean the normal smiling."
"Yeah right," Syaoran looked away from her.
Sakura pulled him underwater again. She was really having fun making him angry. Just seeing the annoyed look on her face made her want to laugh. She showed him a smile, and Syaoran could tell it was meant to insult him. She brought them deeper into the water and waited patiently for Syaoran to smile. She waited with a warm smile on her face to encourage him. He looked at her with a hint of confusion in his eyes. He wasn't glaring, nor was he smiling. She waited a little longer, holding him in the same spot. He removed one of his hands from hers and placed it on her cheek. Sakura closed her eyes. Her heart was beating fast and she could feel her bracelet burning up. She then felt his lips on hers. Everything had become perfect at that moment. Sakura remembered her own words, 'Just forget and have fun,' so she forgot every little reason why she hated him and let him kiss her. She felt very inexperienced while kissing him; she wondered if this was his first kiss as well. He licked her lips and she parted them for him. His tongue explored every region of her mouth. As soon as Syaoran was satisfied he pulled away from Sakura. She opened her eyes to see him smiling at her.
ChiChi's Note: My goodness, I can't believe it took me that long to write another chapter! I got Sakura to ahem, "teach" Odelette better English so that you guys can understand her more lol. Review!
