Title: Fire and Ice

By: everlastingxwish

A/N: The only thing I can say is sorry. I haven't updated in so long, I feel really guilty. I hope you guys will still find this fic as interesting as before (I kinda forgot some of my ideas…--'), but since my actual project right now is Ying Yang, I hope you guys will be patient with me. '' Well, on with the fic! Enjoy!

Of Actual Pondering and Thinking

Tomoyo reached over to nudge Eriol in the ribs, effectively shutting him up before he uttered another word. Queen Nadeshiko swept into the room, closing the wooden door behind her, suddenly looking not as young as she had before.

"So Sakura really is gone," Nadeshiko said sadly. "I suppose it is my role as her mother to explain to you every event that transpired, leading up to the occurrence of," She swallowed. "…this."

The three young royals looked at their elder with pity in their eyes, and then looked at each other.

Tomoyo made the first move. "Nadeshiko-sama, please sit," She said, conjuring a plush chair for the queen to sit on after much difficulty. Syaoran took longer in having a fire blazing in the fireplace, warming up the small room, and after a few tries, in Eriol's hands soon appeared a variety of fruits for them to snack on while they listened to the Queen's story. They each tried to make themselves comfortable, but they all were concerned for their friend/daughter's wellbeing.

The Queen waited a few moments before finally looking down at the bitten apple in her hands before beginning.

"As Eriol-kun has told you," Her voice was soft. "The Ice Kingdom did not originally belong to the Kinomoto family. It belonged to one man alone—we know him as Kurotsuki. That's what he liked to go by, and there are no other scrolls in the libraries indicating any other name. He had no family whatsoever, no relations to trust, and because of this loneliness, the kingdom started to melt. This land, because of his powerful magic and presence, did anything he wanted it to do. It soon grew empty and desolate, its citizens slowly dying. The Kinomoto clan lived in the countryside of the Ice Kingdom, close to the Fire Kingdom," Here, Nadeshiko threw Syaoran a look, "so the melting did not affect them so much at first."

"And then, the crops they had worked so hard to plant and grow died," Eriol supplied. The Queen nodded sadly. "That is true. The Kinomoto clan soon grew very angry at their King for doing this to his people, so they began to plot against him. Because they barely had any connection to the city, no one living there knew what they were planning. The Kinomoto were very skillful with their magic, and knew some martial arts. After three months, they finally took action on a moonless night. They snuck over the castle walls after defeating the Guards, and surrounded the King while he was off-guard. The King had no willpower, and no determination to continue to rule any longer, so he agreed to hand over the Crown, as long as he could be set free and go wherever he liked. The Kinomotos agreed, but the thing is, they lied."

Nadeshiko frowned delicately, while Syaoran full-out scowled. "After setting the Crown on their Clan leader's head, they immediately sliced the previous King's head off his shoulders."

"The Ice Kingdom's people rejoiced to some degree; as the ice restored itself in the city, and the land was lush again in the country, but this truth about our history still bothers many. People still debate over whether the Kingdom being taken over they the Kinomoto was a good change or not, and I think it was a perfectly plausible reason." Nadeshiko said thoughtfully.

Tomoyo made sounds of protest, Syaoran's eyebrows rose all the way above his bangs, and Eriol's forehead wrinkled. "However," the Queen continued, "I don't think it was right for the Kinomotos to kill the King. They broke a promise, and that, I cannot ignore." The Queen managed a small smile, before standing up abruptly, the apple dropping to the floor.

"King Fujitaka needs my help," The Queen told them, bending down to pick up the fruit, and setting it on a table. "When you three are done with this room, don't hesitate to ask the maids to clean up." Nadeshiko left the room at a fast pace.

Eriol pushed his glasses up his nose, thinking. "Well," He said finally. "I got some new facts, and I learned some new things." He frowned, disturbed. "But some things that she told you about were different than what I read."

Tomoyo threw him an inquiring look, and Syaoran asked, "How?"

"Well," Eriol said hesitantly, "Even though the man's nickname was Kurotsuki, his real name was Shibata Akito. It also had a bit about how he had a mistress throughout his reign, so she gave birth to his illegitimate son." He shrugged. "But the book could be wrong."

Tomoyo took a quick look at Syaoran and Eriol. "I have a hunch," She said slowly, but kept her eye on the untidy room. "But I'll explain it to you guys later, when we're done cleaning this place, and I've thought all the kinks through. I think you might agree with me."

Syaoran nodded, making the bed, and Tomoyo whisked away the chair and food with a sudden gust of wind. Eriol put out the fire. All three thought a mile a minute, all mystified about why Sakura had been kidnapped.

They left a few minutes later, the small room as bare as it had been before they had come.

Tomoyo sighed in comfort, as she sank down onto a small purple pouf chair, draping a blanket over herself. Syaoran dragged a wooden chair over, and Eriol perched himself on a dark blue armchair. The three formed an awkward circle, and Tomoyo couldn't help but think that it would be complete if Sakura was here. She shook her head to clear the unneeded thoughts, and snuggled deeper into the chair.

Syaoran and Eriol both stared at her, wondering when she would begin.

"You guys want to know about my 'hunch', right?" She asked them, and they nodded mutely. Tomoyo smiled secretively. "I'm kind of proud of it myself, actually," She admitted. "Couldn't think of a better story than this…" Syaoran glared at her. Get on with it already!

She smiled a bit more. "Well, I first want to hear what you guys think!" She said with as much cheerfulness she could muster. Syaoran let loose a few curses. If looks could kill, she'd be pinned to this chair forever.

Tomoyo sighed. "Fine," She said resignedly, then pouted. "You could have at least let me have my fun."

Eriol looked at her. "We'll let you have your fun later; when you're done explaining your so-called 'hunch' that you're proud of." He smirked. Tomoyo almost scowled at him, but managed a tight smile instead.

"Well, it is rather obvious, really." She said. "It's a wonder you guys haven't figured it out yet. Especially you, Eriol," She gave him a pointed look. "You were the one who told us about the bastard son anyway."

She leaned closer, causing the others to lean forward as well. "I think, from what Eriol told us, that Sakura was kidnapped by Kurotsuki's descendant." She smiled smugly.

Silence.

"Is that it?" Eriol inquired.

Tomoyo pouted. "Duh. I told you—it's simple."

Syaoran raised a doubtful eyebrow at her. "Really, now," He said sarcastically. Eriol seemed to agree with him. "Think about it, princess," He said patiently, almost as if he were explaining to a little kid why the sky was blue. "It could have been highly possible that the book I read was wrong, or I remembered incorrectly. Or, perhaps, his illegitimate son failed to have offspring, and his family died out." The blue-haired prince shrugged. "Anything could happen."

Tomoyo looked a little put out, and then glowered at the two princes. "Well, what do you think happened, then?" She challenged.

"The most probable, of course," Syaoran said dully. "Someone jealous of the royal family, or wanted revenge, kidnapped her. She's a princess, after all. Every kingdom makes their mistakes." Eriol nodded.

Tomoyo wasn't convinced. "If that was true, then the kidnapper would have to have a lot of powerful magic to get past the castle guards and protective shields."

There was a moment of silence as everyone processed this vital piece of information.

"Black magic," She added. "Or special normal magic. Take your pick. Either way, they would have to be especially skillful, or else they wouldn't be able to intrude undetected, and steal away with Sakura without the King knowing."

"And, as for your 'the book could have been wrong' theory, I suggest we check that book you read again." Tomoyo turned to Eriol.

He sighed defeatedly. "It was A People's History of the Ice Kingdom."

Tomoyo smiled triumphantly. Sakura's ancestor Clow Reed was never wrong.

Sakura awoke in a dimly-lit room, an aroma that screamed roses drifting around in the atmosphere around her. It wasn't a bad place to wake up in, she thought dreamily, and was just about to fall asleep when, with a jolt, remembered.

"You've woken up, I see, Princess Sakura," A man's smooth voice interrupted. "Glad to see that."

She tried to sit up from the warm bed she was lying on, but found she couldn't. She jerked her head to the side, and saw that her wrists were tightly bound by silk ribbons to the bed. How, she couldn't figure out.

"Who are you?" She asked, fear coloring her tone slightly, twisting her neck around so she could get a better view of the man in the shadows. Although she couldn't see him, she could feel as his lips curled into a smirk, and a shiver wracked through her body.

"I am Sasaki Akito." He said, stepping closer to her so that she could see blood red eyes glinting from the dark. "Or, you could say…Shibata Akito."

It didn't click. "…Um…Excuse me…but…who?"

A cold chuckle resounded around the room. "No matter. You will soon know who I am…with time." He inched even closer, and Sakura's eyes widened.

"You aren't going to—"

He snorted in contempt. "Of course not. What do you think I am? I would never touch a piece of scum like you."

Sakura huffed angrily in protest.

Swoosh.

And all went dark.

A/N: I apologize for the extremely late release. I haven't given up on this story yet (haha), and just need some inspiration to go on…'' However, my main project is Ying Yang (Naruto fic), so I will slack a bit on this project. Sorry!

I also tried to incorporate their elemental powers in here more, so…

Review! (: Thanks to all who did last time!