"Chapter 3"
That night, I think I fell asleep when Kero was still speaking of sorcery as well as his and the Clow Cards' beginnings. I'm a realist at heart and so the information I deemed significant remained in the forefront of my frontal cortex. It was no wonder that I would get visual dreams of the Clow Cards from that moment onward. Little talking stuffed animals made your dreams of magic quite vivid on a different level of 3D imagery.
"Like you and me, all the Clow Cards have personalities. They can be aggressive or passive, violent or gentle, strong or weak, brilliant or stupid…"
I was in the half state of consciousness with my eyes softly closed when I snorted at what he was saying to me.
"Listen and listen carefully… In order to catch all of them you have to know them like you know yourself. Are you listening?"
I grumbled and turned over, twirling the comforter around my legs.
Kero sighed and I heard him turn in for the night, too. My kind hosts gave my new little friend a little drawer in my borrowed dresser. The sounds of Kero's muffled good-night and the wind tapping gently against the window, heralded me into a dream state.
Minutes later I was standing on the rooftop ledge of the Governor's home at nighttime and looking out into the province of De Ding, China. Every soul was asleep and not even a cricket chirped. I glanced down and jumped, allowing for the wings of my wand under me to catch me and carry me forward. I must have flown for many hours before I came to the outskirts of De Ding. Now I stared at the tall pagoda I was hovering under. It also came to my attention that there was no moon and no stars to light the night. I had only seconds to ponder over why I could see the curve of the beautifully arched roof structure in complete darkness, when something landed just above me and snapped me to attention. I swerved out from under the pagoda and climbed a couple meters skyward to find that a glowing creature was what could cast the shadows in the pitch black darkness. I opened my mouth to greet the creature, but it responded by glowing brighter until I could see nothing. My eyes burned and I felt a fire wrap itself fiercely around my throat. My tears scorched my cheeks and I finally let out a piercing scream.
I jolted awake, my scream penetrating a wail that was coming down the hall. I recognized the petrified wail as Tomoyo's prolonged cries for help. A few other voices, less scared, but frantic nonetheless, accompanied Tomoyo's cries. The house's attendants sounded as trapped and worried as Tomoyo. Then, Touya's voice boomed louder than everyone else. "Everyone remain calm! I will attempt to break down my door." There was a loud boom, followed by a crushing and alarming silence.
That got me to move… At the very least, the sound of people's fear got me to TRY to move. The whimpering and the rattling sounds started to shake the house again while I tried to focus and figure out why I couldn't pull the covers off of my body. When the sheets slid off my bed in a puddle due to my movements, I noticed that my waist, wrists, and ankles were bound by snarled wood. I tried pulling, but I only felt the pressure of rough wood bite into my skin. I let out a breath, thinking that I was still in the middle of a wickedly, horrible nightmare. Then, I heard something banging in my dresser. The noise like the sound of a knock on wood became insistently urgent.
"What is going on out there?" Kero finally shouted. "Sakura, open up! If this is your idea of a joke…"
I gulped and craned my neck to look at a massive tree trunk wedged between the foot of my bed and Kero's drawer door. "Kero," I managed to groan.
"Wait a minute." The guardian actually waited before continuing. "I think I sense a Clow Card."
I bit my lip from letting a snide remark sputter from my trembling mouth. No kidding, Kero. I rolled my eyes even though there was no point in doing so when no one could see me.
"Sakura… Touya… I'm scared," Tomoyo whimpered.
Worried myself, I managed to snap free one hand and roll to my side. "It's going to be okay, Tomoyo. I'm right down the hall," I called.
"Sakura," Tomoyo sighed.
I tore at the branch around my other hand and continued to speak in a soothing and calming tone, "What's going on? What's happening on your side?"
Tomoyo babbled frantically, "I woke up in a bed of leaves. There are waves of knotted wood that remind me of tree roots. They're all over the floor. I walked over them to reach the door. The door was stuck, so I tried the window, but the wood keeps growing over the window every time I try to pull it off."
"Clow Mistress, it is happening in this room as well."
"The kitchen staff's sleeping quarters, too!"
"I can barely see out the window, but I think the stables are also concealed by branches."
"There is no escape for any of us!"
"Doom for us all!"
Over all the scattered shouting, I looked over at the dresser. "It sounds like a woody situation."
"That's The Wood for you," Kero agreed.
"What's this one supposed to be like…?"
As if the card suddenly was aware that I was catching on and therefore soon catching it, the card came to life. I wiggled in protest, as the branches spun and rolled around my waist and ankles. They were slowly pushing me into a bone-breaking level of pain.
I gasped for air as I called silently for The Windy Card. The Windy pushed between the branches and snapped the wood in two around me.
"… She is as gentle as The Windy."
"No she's not," I spat as I jumped onto the bed and brought out The Fly. "Fly, come to my aid!"
I hopped on the wand barely avoiding a wooded fist in the air. The branches were lashing out at me as I spun in the small space of my room. One branch landed on Kero's dresser, splintering his bed-turned-prison into wood chips. I snatched Kero from the air and avoided another close call.
"I have an idea," I said. I went full speed at the door and dropped only an inch before I slammed into it. The branches smashed the door into a million pieces and continued to chase me down a flight of stairs. I wound myself through the halls and rooms of the first floor, racking my brain for part B of my unplanned plan. This was totally unfair. I was never the type to think on my feet and be that spunky spontaneous person in those stupid witty stories I read online! No ones like that. And if anyone claims to be that, I might give them a piece of my mind.
"Look out!"
Kero spoke too late. One branch swiped me at the middle and threw me to the floor, windless. I fumbled to my feet only to get knocked down again. "Windy," I groaned. My wand escaped its burial in The Wood and returned to my hand. "Wood! Return to your true form." Windy flew off to the side as The Wood took on her true form; a beautiful, sinuous wood nymph. She looked at me as if unsure of what I was.
"I'm Sakura. I want to be your friend, so stop hurting everyone I care about and act kindly. I haven't once tried to attack you."
The Wood gestured over at The Windy.
"Was she hurting you in any way? Think about it," I said, not meaning to sound like my angry boss, but I think I pulled it off.
The Wood suddenly sat down and looked tragically despondent.
"Wood, return to your power confined." I sighed.
The Wood Clow Card came into view, but I did not reach for it. I let it land on the floor beside me where I sat with my legs stretched. I waved at Kero to come forward. When he was close enough I grabbed his tail. "You said she was supposed to be nice!"
"Look! When Clow Reed made the cards he gave them human personalities. Even though certain personalities were made to stand out according to the elements, you can't control such human conditions. The Wood still wanted to be caught subconsciously, but if she had to fight her friends to get there she would be very unwilling," Kero explained.
I pulled him into my chest and hugged him. I was still trembling from the ordeal. "Kero, I felt like I almost died. I felt utterly hopeless."
"You did well, Sakura. I'm sorry there isn't a way to prepare you for this." He held my face between his plush paws. "We'll do a bit of magical training everyday. How about it?"
"Like?" I said, standing on my own. I didn't feel sore like I just fought for my life. Instead, I felt pretty darned GOOD. I turned to Kero as we heard all the doors to the house fling open and bang against the walls.
"Fortune telling."
I raised one eyebrow at him.
"How do you think the first master saw into the future? Once we catch enough cards we can start with the fortune telling."
I started to climb the stairs and nearly fell backward and broke my neck when Tomoyo flung herself at me by jumping down ten steps. She half dragged me to Touya's room without much of an explanation for her rampant behavior. We all know why she compulsively glomped me, though… It was uncomfortable and reassuring at the same time. Weird.
Thank goodness our dare governor only sustained one black and blue in the center of his forehead. His story was that he missed the door he was trying to break down because of a branch that suddenly appeared out of no where. I held my tongue at something I might have joked about with my brother, but this was the governor we were talking to.
The rest of the day, Kero and I went our separate ways. Hey, I was more used to being by myself and I was always better off that way. This way I was able to think without outside bias and I could talk to myself with no refrain.
As I meandered my way through town, people spared me these annoying glances. So this was the way of life for a celebrity… I hated it. I would never trade anything for fame and glory. Never ever. Even if you handed me a million bucks I would definitely shoot down that offer. I was never ever going to consciously set my own pitfall. I was bizarre enough to be displayed at the zoo, but that was something that I would die before selling myself to.
"Pretty apple for the pretty princess."
I paused and turned to the vendor holding an apple out to me. "Excuse me? Are you talking to me?" I pointed to myself. She blinked at me from behind her crates of apples and held the apple out in supplication. Her golden eyes begged me to take it. Now did this not feel and look oddly familiar; the old witch entreating the young maiden to take the fresh shiny apple from her withered hands? Did I look like a foolish broad from a fairy tale flick or what?
I shook my head at her. "I'm not."
"Yes you are, Clow Mistress. Take the apple." There was a twinkle in the old crone's eyes.
I dropped my hands to my side and answered her indignantly. If there was something I learned in my world that I took with me to this world it was not to take that kind of obnoxious tone even if it did come from an elderly. "I was about to say, I'm not pretty." You must be blind, I underhandedly added in my thoughts.
She cackled. "You were about to say that, Princess, I'm sure," she said matter-of-factly.
I shook my head and gave her a watery grin. "Why do you keep calling me that?"
She reached out to stroke my auburn hair. I didn't even have a moment to move away from her because she grabbed my hand and stuffed the apple in my palm. "Take. The. Apple." The words crackled from her thin and wrinkled lips. She shoved my hand with the apple against my diaphragm.
"I don't have the money to pay for thi…" I began.
"A gift for you, My Mistress," the vendor murmured.
I took a half step back and hit something rather human-like behind me. "You are hardly recognizable in normal clothes," Syaoran said gruffly as he picked me up by the shoulders and planted me to his side. How rude! He treated me like an inanimate object to be shifted around from place to place.
"Thank you, grandma," he said, flipping a copper coin at her. I watched the woman scramble to catch it.
As he ushered me away, he spoke to me angrily, "You stand out too much. Don't talk to strangers."
"You could have just handed it to her. Can't you see she's just an old woman?" I growled over him.
He snatched the apple that I had been holding against my breast. "I missed breakfast," he replied, taking an enormous bite of MY apple even though he paid for it. I didn't say anything since he paid for something that was going to be given to me anyway. Maybe I should have said something.
I looked over my shoulder and saw that the old woman and her apples were gone. A certain apple story from a Brothers Grimm tale dawned on me. I watched with bated breath as Syaoran ate the entire apple until he reached the core. Surprisingly, he was still alive.
"If you're so hungry you should come over to Touya's place for a home cooked meal."
A dark look smeared his handsome features. "I would die of starvation before I crawl to his house and beg for food," he snarled. "I'm fine on my own."
It gave me the crawly kind of creeps the way he sounded just like me. FINE. ON OUR OWN.
I grimaced at his unhygienic ways. He threw the apple core in an alley and wiped his hands over the front of his pants. He didn't care that he was disgusting me and shocking me at the same time. You see, the Syaoran I knew, was a clean freak. He didn't let anyone even graze him when he was in his Armani or Ralph Loren suits. Hence, he had a driver and a car that picked him up at one place and dropped him off at another. When it rained he made me carry the umbrella for him, so that he didn't have to dirty his hands. I think I might have called it quits if he stooped as low as to making me throw my jacket over puddles for him to walk on. Since he did nothing of the sort I stuck around for weeks. Let's see how this beast fairs.
He put his sticky fingers on the fine material of my sleeve and pulled me along. "There's a disturbance we must attend to."
I didn't need him to lead the way. I could have easily followed the alarmed shouts and screaming a block away. We reached the center of the market. Customers ran every which way to avoid the falling baskets of fruits and vegetables and the flying meat racks. I rubbed my eyes to make sense of what was going on. You'd think by now nothing surprised me. Think again.
Without really thinking, I scooped up an empty basket and ran after the disturbance. You could easily track it because it was bouncing from one stand to another. Like a rabbit. Indeed, it was one of those round rabbits that kept hopping on the tables and throwing the things off those tables with just a lift of its funny feet. I chased after it, attempting to trap the plump creature. The basket I cast about only caught air.
"Show yourself!" I heaved after a good half an hour game of cat and mouse. Just to clarify, I was the cat. I think.
There was some chirping behind me and I stared at the little rabbit with a killer glare. I jumped at it only to meet my face with the grass. The apple-stealer sniggered.
"Syaoran, do something!" I shouted, knowing that the man was enjoying the show.
"There's no harm done," he smiled. "Keep going. You're the one with the magical abilities to seal it."
I frowned at him. Stupid Syaoran. Useless Syaoran. Bossy Syaoran… I'll show him!
I quickly assessed my environment. Meanwhile, the card was busy destroying everyone else's income. I took the opportunity to quickly build my trap. Since the card seemed to enjoy destroying things that were in perfect order I assembled a new stand, so that it was in perfect order. As I worked I shouted at Syaoran, "If you're going to be completely and utterly useless, you might as well tell me what you see."
"It jumps," he answered lamely.
Yeah, that's my dumb boss for you. The rabbit landed and so did I. I pounced on it my hands wrapping around the bubbly card. "I've got you now!" With my wand slipping from my hand I spoke the magical terms; "Return to your power confined, Jump!" The rabbit exploded and left only a card crushed in my arms.
I turned my sneering face at Syaoran's retreating form. "Jump!" That made me rise into the air and land right on top of Syaoran. He sputtered furiously. I was off and laughing as he howled at my back. "Of all the indecent women in the world you win the medal!"
I was a mess when I turned up at the house for supper.
"What happened?" Touya asked with wide eyes.
"Was it violent?" Kero asked in alarm.
"How many cards do you have now?" Tomoyo asked, laughing inwardly. I could tell she was sharing a laugh with herself by that cocky smile I recognized.
"A run-in with your average Clow Card. It was not the violent type, just The Jump. That's four in total, now," I answered all of them.
As Kero took the place next to mine at the table he said, "You're a lucky one, Sakura."
"Why?"
"The Jump is stupid."
Way to deflate my already almost non-existent ego, Sun Guardian.
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MW
