Star Crossed: Memories

Summary: The disgraced heir of the Kinomoto clan, Sakura, stands accused of performing witchcraft. Her crime? Enchanting the heir of the enemy Li clan to fall in love with her...

Full Summary: Thousands of years have passed since the ascension of the great Clow Reed. But both the Li clan and the Kinomoto clan still feud, each claiming direct descent to the magician. A blind and bitter hatred is born, and an era of bloodshed commences. In this world of suspicion and superstition, amity between the two clans is unthinkable, impossible and regarded as acts of treason and witchcraft. Until the unfortunate heirs of the two clans fall in love...
a/n: I love my reviewers and I am in admiration of your patience. -shakes head-

Okay, this is a quick, short chapter that sort of sets the exposition for the remainder of the series. I hope you enjoy it!

the night owl flexes her wings and soars into the moonlight
trapped in her talons are the remants of withered hopes, dust

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Part Three. Talons

It was nighttime. The sun had set hours earlier, and the sky was ink black. Tiny pinpricks of silver stars dotted the sky here and there, crowning the perfect, golden orb that was the moon.

There were festivals everywhere. Peasants in their little huts frolicked about their lawns, setting off fireworks, and dancing to lively music on the roads. In the villages, there were large celebrations in the village squares, where everyone danced and shouted happily and drank themselves silly. And of course, there was the finest of them all…the ball at the palace of Prince Ryozo.

Prince Ryozo was the prince of Ryo, the third largest province in the land of Japan, the largest kingdom in the world. It was he who ruled the kingdom fairly, he who oversaw the everyday goings of his people. And, sadly, it was he who had to see to the well-being of the Kinomotos and the Lis. Although, at times, they could act half-civilly with each other: treating each other with some frozen courtesy.

No one knew how exactly the feud between the Lis and the Kinomotos had started. But it had been going on for so many generations…some of the historically perfectionist scholars insisted that it had lasted a thousand years, ever since the birth of the Clow creed, the birth of Japan and the anointment of Reed as a master of Magic.

Some said it was legend, others insisted it was pure fact. The truth was that while the Lis could claim direct descent from Reed, the Kinomotos insisted that they too, were members of the family of Reed. The idea of such "abomination" could not be tolerated, and a bloody rift was born between the two families, each trying to claim and prove descent to Reed, through evidence or bloodshed.

To some, it was a hopeless cause. Only a few thought it was wrong. Most of the others were caught in the raging fire of pride and ego. And there were few who were strong-minded enough to speak out against the Lis and Kinomotos. But even they, must respect the Prince's decisions.

And so, there they were, the highest ranking of the seven households that made up the court of Ryo. There were most from the Li clan and Kinomoto clan, but also from the Tsurayuki, Yoritomo, Azana, Minomoto and Taira clans, though these five clans combined did not equal the numbers or power of the Kinomoto clan or Li clan alone.

From the Kinomoto clan, the matriarch and patriarch, Kinomoto no Yoshisune-Kato and Kinomoto no Fujitaka, were present, along with Kinomoto no Sakura, the second forechild. Also present was the sister of the former matriarch, Kinomoto no Sonomi-Daidouji, and her daughter, Tomoyo. Kinomoto no Chiharu-Takashi and Yamazaki-Takashi, newly wed, also came. So did Yoshisune's son, Kinomoto no Kenshin-Kato. The heir to the Kinomoto clan, Kinomoto no Touya, sadly was not present.

From the Li clan, there was the single matriarch, Li no Yelan, and the advisor, Wei, as well as the four daughters of Yelan – the four forechildren. The fifth, Li no Syaoran, and the heir to the clan, sadly too, was not present. He had not been present for six years.

Another forechild, Li no Meiling, was present too – though not a direct daughter of Yelan and her late husband, though she was the niece of Yelan and "like a daughter", and also directly bore the name of Li in her name, enough to consider her a forechild. With her came Li no Eriol-Hirigawaza, a close cousin and friend. Several other elders and children did come, a young lady-in-waiting of Yelan's being one of them: a certain Li no Leiko-Kanzaki.

There were two balls: one was for the already married couples, or the promised ones. And then there was one for the younger ones: the single ones not yet bound to another.

Sakura, despite the protests of her father and stepmother, had succeeded in attending the "singles ball". Kenshin had followed her, undaunted, and Sakura was growing sick of him, but instead, sat firmly at a table, just watching the happy people dancing.

She smiled inwardly as she saw Tomoyo and Eriol dancing together. They were so obviously infatuated with each other. And they looked so good together: Tomoyo staring into Eriol's eyes, their faces inches apart.

Of course, no one was really paying attention to the fact that a Kinomoto and a Li were dancing together. In fact, nobody really knew who anyone was. It was a masked ball, and though everyone wore masks, Sakura knew exactly who everyone was. She knew Tomoyo from the waterfall of black hair, she knew Eriol from the telltale navy hair and his height and posture. She could see Meiling in the corner, her long odangos trailing almost to her knees, the way she scrutinized a tall, graceful masked girl, whom Sakura knew was a Li, though which one she could not possibly know.

Sakura started as Meiling casually made her way toward her seat. Sakura focused on the dancers, watching Meiling approach her out of the corner of her eye.

She saw Meiling turn to face the doorway to the garden, and raise two fingers, before turning back. Sakura nodded slightly, to show that she had understood the message. Meet me in the garden in two minutes.

Nobody could see a Kinomoto and a Li conversing peacefully in public without getting suspicious. Well, most of people in the other clans would look on and sigh with relief. A Li or Kinomoto clansmember would ritually execute the "traitor" on the spot. It was a sad, confusing world to live in.

Sakura glanced once more at the dancers before getting up slowly, smoothing her flowing gown with her gloved hands before making her way to the door.

Right before she made it to the door, she felt someone behind her.

"Sakura?" a male voice asked.

Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself.

"That's forechild Kinomoto no Sakura to you, Kenshin."

She felt his indecision, his insecurity…she could sense the eagerness literally pouring out from him, and shuddered inwardly. He had been harassing her nonstop – trying to get her to agree to an engagement. Well, even if she were possessed, she would never agree.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as he took her hand in his.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, bringing it to his lips.

Sakura wrenched her hand furiously from his grasp. "Never," she hissed, her eyes flashing. "Now get lost, I don't want my evening ruined."

He didn't seem to take a hint, but rather, reached for a strand of her fiery hair. She flinched as his hand brushed her face, the part that wasn't covered by her mask.

"Let go of me!" she drew back, knocking his hand aside. He just stared at her, confused.

"Listen to me well, Kenshin, because I will only say this once," she seethed. "I don't know what your mother says to you, I don't care about whatever she says about me, but hear this now, and understand this fully: let there be no misunderstanding when you hear from my lips that this is a rejection!"

She lifted her chin defiantly.

"So. Leave. Me. Alone," she clearly enunciated each word, before turning around and opening the door, and slamming it shut behind her. She paused quietly…if he dared to follow her…

Good. Maybe the incredibly thick son of Yoshisune had finally taken a hint.

"Sakura?"

She turned, and faced Meiling. "Hello, Meiling."

Meiling removed her mask, her tanned face shining with sweat. She wiped away strands of black hair that were plastered along her forehead.

"I have some news for you," Meiling said grimly. She took a step forward. "You've got competition."

Sakura stared at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Meiling blinked. "There's someone else in the running for matriarch of the Li clan now."

Sakura's eyes widened. "There is?! In line with you?! Who?!"

"Shh!" Meiling hissed. "Not so loud!"

"Sorry," Sakura whispered. "But…who?"

"Leiko."

The way Meiling said it, it sounded like poison.

"Leiko?" Sakura repeated, confused. "Who is she?"

"Lady Yelan's new lackey," Meiling said contemptuously. "You saw her, dusting off my aunt's feet with her fan."

Recognition dawned on Sakura. "Oh…" she said. "The tall one?"

Surely it was the tall Li girl whom Meiling had scrutinized with such distaste?

"Yes," Meiling nodded grimly. "That's her, and don't underestimate her. She has a head on her shoulders, and she uses it too."

"That's unusual, to say the least." Sakura paused. "What has she done?"

Meiling rolled her eyes. "She's dangerous, Sakura. She's very manipulative. She's got Lady Yelan believing that I'm a barren spitfire."

"What?" Sakura yelped.

Meiling nodded grimly. "Yes. I'm not in the running anymore. Lady Yelan is convinced that I'm too wild."

Sakura's mouth dropped. "And this is all because of Leiko?"

"Yes," Meiling nodded again, her jaw set in a strikingly similar way to her cousin's. "And not only that, when Sheifa sifted through Fanren's, Fuutie's and Feimei's letters, they all apparently said the same thing: Leiko is perfect for this family."

"In the name of Reed," Sakura swore softly. "She's fast!"

"And very smart," Meling said. "She eliminates everyone from her immediate danger path. Anyone who poses a challenge. All the other girls in the household have no chance, not even me. But you – you're the one she'll have a problem with."

"Why?"

"Because," Meiling paused, a smile warming her face, "you are the love of Syaoran's life. And they know it. All of them. And his seven years are running out, and the so-called spell isn't fading. If Leiko can't prove that Syaoran doesn't love you, then he and you will have to be married, according to Prince Ryozo's law."

Sakura blinked. "So, Leiko might as well give up then? Because now, even Reed himself cannot draw us apart. We are like two souls in one, him and I – two bodies and one life. Reed willing, he will never stop loving me."

"I know that," Meiling said gently, watching Sakura's eyes mist over. "But Leiko will not stop at anything. You see, a wink is as good as a nod to her. She will take one explanation and jumble it up completely, mix it up so much, that one will forget where their truth was in the first place."

Meiling smirked, in great reminiscence of her cousin, again. "Think about it. I went from a spitfire of a boy to Syaoran's fiancée, and now, I'm a barren maiden –"

"You are not barren!" Sakura gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "How could she say that about you?!" Dislike for this Leiko poured through her veins. How dare this lackey insinuate that Meiling was infertile – unable to procreate – how dare she say that Meiling was not a lady?

"I have ridden astride, you know," Meiling said lightly. "And practiced martial arts with Xiao-Lang and Eriol. That is enough to make them believe that I am – incapable."

"But – but –" Sakura gasped, "that is disgusting!"

"That is Leiko," Meiling finished grimly. "I came here to warn you about Leiko. And I warned Syaoran as well. Hopefully, nothing – untoward will happen, but she is adamant in her way."

"And I am in mine," Sakura said firmly. "Thank you, Meiling. Your warning will not go unheeded."

Disclaimer: I own nothing familiar. Just an evil b-tch by the name of Leiko and a coupla kingdoms and random clans. xD

a/n: Yeah yeah, that was really, really short. Bleh. But hey, just one more chapter until Memories is officially over. Then, we can move on to the good stuff (that's been written more recently than this three-year-old arc...)!

I'm working on the next chapter of Literary. I'm aiming to get it out before school starts, but we shall see...

Next Chapter: Syaoran reminisces about his and Sakura's first meeting (ironically, if you want flashbacks of how they fell in love, you have to wait until Odyssey, the third arc. Weird, ne?)

Reviews make my day!

So please do (review, that is)!

-Celestiana