The Crystal Cards Speak
By:Corinne Price
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Water! Wind! Fire! Earth! Come to my assistance! Help free your masters, Sun and Thunder!
Release!”
The elemental cards rushed forward. Li and Eli were trapped.
The cards flew to Eli first. Fiery burned the ropes off. Windy floated him slowly to the ground. Earth and Water watched in silence. They went over to Li. Water started chewing through the ropes. Water was Li’s favorite card. And Fiery. Water slowly brought Li down to the ground. Sakura was so tired. She just transformed all four cards. Without Li’s or Eli’s help. So tired…She ran o! ver to Li. Li threw his arms around her. So tired. She looked at him. So tired. She smiled. Everything turned black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Sakura!”
“N-Nani?”
“What WERE you dreaming about?!”
“N…Nothing, Li. I’m fine.”
Sakura tried to get out of bed. She was so weak that when her feet touched the carpet, she just collapsed onto the floor. Li jumped up.
“Sakura! Are you alright?”
“…Yeah…I-I think so…”
Li picked her back up and laid her gently back onto the bed. He noticed something sticking out underneath Sakura’s back.
Li picked it up.
It was the Windy Card.
But there was no picture in it.
Li looked around him and gasped.
Sakura’s Staff was glowing white.
The other three cards (Watery, Fiery, and Earthy) were laying on the carpet beside the Staff.
Also empty.
Sakura transformed the cards in her dream…
…For real…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Sakura!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Help her, Toby!”
“I can’t! I’m stuck!”
“Heeelllllp!”
“Sakura!”
“Sakura…?”
“SHAORAN-KUN?!”
“Sakura! Where are you!”
“Shaoran-kun! I’m over her-AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”
“Sakura!”
“Sakura!”
“Sakura!?”
“… … …”
Cody heard footsteps running away. “Shaoran-kun!”
“Who’s running away?”
“Cameron!”
“I’m still stuck here!”
“Sakura!”
“… … …”
He saw a flash of gold…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cody screamed. He looked around him. ‘Where did that lion go???’
“Cody! Why did you scream?”
“Cameron?!”
“Cody, I reeeaaaallllly think you’ve cracked.”
“Why?”
“Ever since Sakura…”
Cody jumped up, blushing. “No, I’m not. Just a weird dream…”
“Well, it must have been very weird, ‘cause you never scream.”
“So what if I never do?”
“Well, it’s been about 4 weeks now, and you’ve been acting like this for a week.”
“So?”
“Well, I figured it had to do with, well, you know, her.”
“Of course not, Cameron. Why would I be like that?”
“Well…-“
Cameron was interrupted by a knock. Cody ran downstairs to the door. He opened the door. A girl was standing there who, for some reason, reminded Cody strongly of Sakura.
“Hello. Is my sister Sakura here?” the girl asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Sakura.”
“Nani?”
“Was it…Was it-“
“You don’t have to worry, Shaoran-kun. I know…It was the dreams again…”
“The same one?”
“Yeah…I don’t know why…It’s just…”
“Just what?”
“Well, I hear this voice there…I’m not sure if it’s her, but…”
Li blinked.
“If it’s who?”
“My sister.”
“WHAT?!?!?!”
“You heard me, Shaoran-kun.”
“Would you mind calling me Li?”
“No. Shaoran-kun sounds better.”
“But….”
“Well, then, fine. Call me Shaoran-kun…if you want. I don’t understand why, but fine.”
“Thank you.”
“Anyways, what’s this about a sister?”
“Well, I thought she died…”
“Well, this is only a dream. It doesn’t mean she’s alive.”
“Yes, it does.”
“?”
“Don’t you remember? The prophetic dreams? Where everything’s black, but you still seem to see?”
“Oooooh.”
“Yeah, that’s what it was, except…”
“Except what?”
“Except…instead of black…”
Li stopped breathing.
“Except…instead of black…it…it was…red.”
Li gasped. “Are you serious?”
She nodded her head. Tears were in her eyes. Being in a red dimension means that whoever speaks is evil. Li walked over and wrapped his arms around Sakura. She was crying softly. Li gritted his teeth. He hated it when she cried. “Don’t worry, Sakura, a dream isn’t always correct.”
“But that’s just it.”
“What?”
“I mean, she sounded so…so confident. Like she knew she was in the dream and she wanted to tell me that.”
“Well, prophetic dreams are like that, Sakura. Let’s go get some rest.”
“NO!”
“Nani?”
“No! I’m sick and tired of dreams! No more!”
Li didn’t blame her, so he just shrugged. He had something weird on his mind. “Why have you been sleeping so much anyway?”
Sakura didn’t answer him.
Li repeated the question, this time a little more suspiciously.
Sakura still didn’t answer him. “Uhm…I-uh…”
“What?”
“I…I’m tired…Can we…uhm…L-Let’s jus…just go t-to bed, okay?”
“Go ahead…I’m not tired.”
Sakura walked out hastily. Li waited a couple of seconds, then walked quickly over to the desk and opened the drawer. He moved a few papers and pamphlets around until he found the Clow Book, hidden. ‘Strange,’ Li thought, ‘She normally doesn’t hide the book.’ He opened it and picked up the stack of cards. The now-empty Windy Card rested on top. He removed it from the top of the pile and placed it facedown on the desk. Next was the Fiery Card, also empty. He placed it on top of the Windy Card, facedown. He did the same to the next three cards, Earthy, Water, and Float. He looked at the next card and gasped. The Fight Card was sitting face up into Li’s shocked face. But, there wasn’t a picture of the Fight Card on the Card. Li’s suspicions had been true.
Sakura had been changing the cards in secret.
Sakura was pacing anxiously in circles in her dormitory. ‘Did I give it away? Did I say too much?’ She thought frantically. She heard the door open and snapped her head around. “Oh, it’s you, Eli,” she said with a sigh of relief.
“Hello, Sakura,” he said with a strange note in his voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why’s Li in the common room with the cards?”
“Ummmmm…He. Uhhhh…mmmmmmm…”
“You were transforming the cards behind his back, weren’t you?”
“…Uh…N-n-no…It’s j-just that…”
“So you were, weren’t you?”
“… … …”
“Why, Sakura?”
“B…Because...”
“Because what?”
“I…Well, I don’t want……L…Li to…get…well, uhhmmm…you know…like…tired from all the card transforming…”
“But we’re all in on this together, Sakura.”
“I know…”
“Well, please don’t transform any more cards without our knowing, okay, Sakura?”
Sakura looked down, blushing. “O…Okay. I’ll stop now.”
“Okay, Sakura.” Suddenly he looked up. “What is it, Eli?”
Still looking up, he said slowly, with a small smile on his face, “…Nothing.”
Sakura just looked at him in puzzlement.
Cameron sat alone in the dormitory, feeling anger rising. “I can sense it…But where…” He heard Cody outside, talking to Sorina, Sakura’s ‘sister’, but Cameron knew better. He has known Sorina from his toddler hood. They both shared the same fantasy…The fantasy…Did she still want it as much as Cameron. Suddenly Cameron heard a soft knocking at the door. “Come in,” he said, wiping the angry look from his face. “Cameron…?” He heard Sorina ask. Cameron looked up, blushing. ‘She’s ! still as beautiful as I remember her, too.’ And she truly was, in Cameron’s eyes. She reminded him strongly of Sakura, except her hair was platinum blonde, and a little longer. Her eyes were brown, not green. “Yes, Sorina?” he asked politely. Sorina looked deeply into Cameron’s, and asked, sternly but sweetly, “Do you still have those dreams, Cameron…?”
“…Yes.”
“…I still have hope for it…Do you?”
“Yes, but…you no longer have to fret. I will have it soon.” He finished as a large grin spread across their faces.
“There,” Sakura said as she hung up the final flower to dry. Sakura mopped the sweat off her forehead. “Phew, it’s hot. I’m going inside now.” She walked into the palace and fetched a drink of ice water. As she walked up to her room, she suddenly froze. She heard shuffling around inside the door. She slowly cracked the door open and peeked in. There was nobody there, but the cards were all sitting on the table. ‘I wonder who put them out,’ Sakura thought as she opened the door! the rest of the way. Some more of the cards floated out of the Clow book and settled down above the others as she closed the door behind her. She felt a wave of warmth come from the cards. She walked over, set the glass of water down with a soft clink, and sat down in front of the cards. The cards were coaxing her. She scooted her chair closer to the cards. She picked up her Staff from atop the desk. She figured the power of the cards brought the Staff to them. She thought for a moment, then picked up the Lock Card. She threw it up in the air. “Lock Card, release and dispel!” ! She said, pointing the Staff toward the door. She watched as the form of the Lock floated to the Staff, while blue ribbons flowed out of the crescent mark on top of the Staff. After being absorbed into her Staff, a magical lock appeared on her door. The empty Lock Card floated back to its position on the desktop. Sakura wasn’t tired. She placed her hands atop the Time Card and the Return Card. Sakura closed her eyes and began meditating. After about five minutes, she was in a trance. All of a sudden,
“The time has come, my mistress.” Sakura’s eyes snapped opened. The Time Card was glowing white under her hand. She lifted her hand as the card slowly lifted itself into the air. “W…What did you say?” Sakura asked, her eyes wide open. “It is time, Mistress.”
“Time…Time for what?”
“Time for you to go out on your journey…A journey to find the Silver Card.”
Sakura’s eyes went even wider. “I thought that was only a myth!”
“No. The Silver Card exists. And you must capture it before the hands of evil do.”
“How? How can I find it?”
“Patience, Mistress. Let me explain it so you will understand. Many centuries ago, Clow Reed had created the 52 cards that you currently possess. However, just before he died, he created the Silver Card, in means of preserving his unique powers within that card. The Card was so pure, made by the purest heart in that time, that the card would trust no other except Clow Reed. However, when time came that the blanket of death was falling upon Master Reed, the card became confused as to where it should go to. It only trusted one with a heart as pure as Clow Reed. So Cl! ow Reed sent it to the center of our world, where only one with a heart as pure as his may reach. And only the one with purest of heart could recapture all the cards and rule them in her own name. That person is now you, Sakura. The card has sensed that the other cards been changed in name and form, and is now awaiting to see if you will recapture it, too, if you have a pure enough heart to do so. However, someone, someone hiding his secrets, is also seeking this omnipotent and omniscient golden power of goodness. But he wishes to use it for evil purposes. He wishes to use it to dominate the Clow land. You must find the card before he finds his senses and uses that ! to find it. Although the card is good, bad hands can still touch its surface. And it will still go to the first person that reaches the card, because now it does not know what is good anymore. That’s where you come in, Mistress. If you touch it, it will sense you, your powers, and shall remember the good Clow Reed and let you capture itself. This is what you must do.”
Sakura thought for a moment. “Where do I find it?”
“I shall show you, Mistress,” He said, then raised his gold hourglass. He turned it over.
“Time Card,” Sakura said, already understanding, “take us back in time to the death of Clow Reed…Release!” She pointed her Staff to the hourglass. A coppery mist surrounded them. Sakura’s room disappeared. Everything seemed to be whirring by in circles. Sakura looked around. Suddenly, everything stopped. The symbol of the Clow was glowing under her feet. Time explained, “Before witchcraft and wizardry, this was the only magic here. Therefore, going back in its own time, the magic returned to its original state. When we return to your time, it will change back.” Sakura looked at her Staff. It was not the Crystal Staff, but back to the chicken-head Clow Staff, the first Staff she had. She looked down in front of her. She could see a small gaggle of people surrounding a tall man with long, dark hair and a long Staff towering over all the people around him. What caught Sakura’s eye was that the Staff looked just like Eli’s! She heard voices of the people talking. “Master Reed, you’re going to die?! That cannot be! Tis’ you who has made this city flouris! h. Tis’ you who has made it the way it now is! You simply mustn’t leave, Master Reed!” Everybody else agreed and started talking similarly. The large man raised his Staff and the crowd grew silent again. Clow Reed said, “As long as you continue to take care of the land, it will stay as beautiful as it is now.” And with that, the man turned around and walked onto a small straw-roofed hut.
Sakura followed closely.
After a little while of following Clow Reed, they finally came to the moment they had been waiting to see. Clow Reed reached into a large oak desk and pulled out a book. Sakura walked up closer to see the book better. It was the Clow Book. It magically opened. He pulled out a rich purple cloth. “Where to put you, my dear card. You are beautiful, and you are good, but you are very dangerous, no matter how much you trust people with good hearts. It’s too risky to leave you. If y! our extensive powers fell into the hands of an evil person…” His voice trailed off. He stood up, grabbed his cloak, and glided out the door with the cloth, Sakura in close pursuit.
Clow Reed was walking in the direction of Death Mountain. Sakura used the Fly Card to follow. After an hour of trekking, they were at the top of the volcano. A strange white glow surrounded him as he sunk into the bubbling lava. Sakura still followed, at first startled that she wasn’t getting burned by the lava, but quickly adapted to it. They traveled for a very long time, and, just when Sakura was getting tired of flying, she suddenly emerged into a black cavern. There were iron torches hung around the sides, and a gold altar stood in the center of the room. Clow! Reed was already there, fingering the violet pouch. Sakura watched in silence as he tightened the string, placed it atop the altar, and said, “May you never meet the people who seek faith in the Serpent of Eden, my precious card.” And with that, he turned around and walked away. Sakura turned to follow, but her sight was becoming disoriented. Everything was becoming blurry again. Suddenly, she was in her room again, holding the now-empty Time Card. Sakura looked at it for a few moments, then hurriedly placed it on the desk and turned to the door. But she doubled back to the desk, shock masking her face. All the cards wer! e slowly floating back into the Clow Book. Somehow…the Cards…She watched in surprise as Power…Fight…Sword…Return…Silent…Dash…Jump…all the Cards floated rhythmically into the Book…Empty…