Disclaimer: Well, I guess you kind of know that this wouldn't be in
FANFICTION.net unless it was fan fiction, meaning, I DON'T OWN ANY OF IT!
Okay, well I do own Hiko, Sakura, and Kenji (no matter how much of a jerk
he is). Also, if you consider that the souls of my precious Clef and I are
happily living among the stars, you may say that I own Clef. The reality
is. we own each other. Meaning Clef is M-I-N-E! So touch, and die.
Also, all the songs in this fic either belong to, or are sung by No
Secrets. I claim no ownership there.
AN: Okay, this is set after the second series, but I haven't seen the whole thing yet, so there shouldn't be any major spoilers. At least I don't think there are. I'll warn you if there are. This is the first of four consecutive short stories about Umi and Clef and I hope you like them. I have to admit that I do have trouble with characters being OOC, so just as fair warning, watch out. Hikaru and Fuu and Lantis and Ferio don't come into play in this first installment, but I am planning to have them in the second one.
This story is, and forever will be dedicated to my sweet, sweet Clef. Oh yeah, and my friends Aemilia Rose and Zsa Zsa Sphinx!
Little Angel of Mine
By Danielle of Airls
Umi opened her eyes and gazed into the unending landscape of nothingness. All around her she saw nothing, heard nothing, and when she reached out, she felt nothing. There was no light in this place that she was in, but there was no darkness either. She could see everything so very clearly, and yet she saw nothing at all. There was no ground, no sky, no air to breath, yet stand she did, and breathe she did.
Out of the nothingness, a figure materialized. It was a figure with masculine features that included a bush of lavender hair atop his head and shining blue eyes that looked as though they could bore through her soul.
Umi couldn't believe her eyes; Clef was here, on Earth! She tried to take a step forward, but her body refused to obey. Her feet felt rooted in place.
"Umi," he said quietly. "I love you... I love you so much... Do you love me?"
Umi bent all her willpower on trying to open her mouth and say that one simple word, the one simple "yes" that would let him know how deeply she felt her love for him.
For one moment, one joyous and blissful moment, she thought that she had succeeded when her mouth opened to speak, but as soon as she let her guard down, a voice that she knew was hers, but sounded far from it, said, "No."
Umi was crying out inside, her mind and heart screaming of treachery and betrayal. How dare she say that to him? But her outside appearance didn't change one bit.
Clef looked shocked and hurt. His blue eyes quickly changed from hopeful to sad at the sound of that one monosyllabic word, which was not the one he had been expecting to hear. His usually stoic demeanor morphed into one of depression and despair as his eyes filled with liquid sorrow.
Umi wanted to just reach out and make everything all right with a "yes, I do love you" or a "just kidding" or even a "yes" would have been nice.
Clef finally turned his back to her and walked away, fading into the nothingness from whence he had come.
Umi regained control of her body as soon as he disappeared, immediately slumping to the floor, her head falling into her hands. The tears started flowing and they didn't stop. She felt a small puddle form around her, but she didn't stop crying.
"I... love... you... Clef..." she choked out, crying even harder after the confession.
That's when she felt it.
The ground, if there was one in this empty place, suddenly fell through and she began falling into the darkness, and this time there really was no light. No light, no sound, and no emotion.
Umi was a cold lifeless form tumbling down into an endless abyss. This was the end. She greeted it happily.
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Umi awoke suddenly in the middle of the night. She glanced over at her Waterford crystal clock and saw that it was close to two o'clock in the morning.
She ran a hand through her disheveled blue hair. That had been the worst nightmare so far. She had been unable to tell Clef of her feelings.
Lifting her head off of the feathered pillow, Umi sat up, pushing away the heavy comforter and silk sheets.
She threw her slim legs over the edge of the king-sized bed and onto the cold tiled floor. Umi's nightgown made a soft swishing noise as she walked over to her window seat, her mind on a one-way track.
She carefully lifted the pillowed lid on the window seat noiselessly and reached inside, pulling out a small glass box. The box had not a speck of dust on it, and you could see what was inside very clearly.
There was an intricate headdress inside the box. It had gold trimming around purple and blue stones with a large blue horn protruding from where the middle of the forehead would be.
Umi gazed longingly at the headdress, closing the window seat. She sat down and put the delicate glass box across from her. The moonlight fell on the object inside the box and the stones and gold sparkled to life.
Two crystal tears fell onto the glass, splattering the surface with sadness.
Umi just sat and cried for a few moments before replacing the headdress in the window seat and returning to her bed.
She crawled under the covers, banished all thoughts of her beloved master magician and fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep.
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"Ready for school, honey?" a woman asked the teenager who was primping her appearance in the mirror.
"Yes, kaa-san," Ryuuzaki Umi replied, brushing away one last tendril of cerulean hair out of her aquamarine eyes. She slowly got up from her vanity chair brushing out the few wrinkles in her pleated blue skirt, part of the prep school uniform.
Her mother smiled warmly and opened the door for her daughter. "Here's the money for your lunch, sweetie," she said, handing Umi some yen.
"Arigato, kaa-san," Umi replied, taking the paper money and heading out the door of the mansion which was her home and walking to school.
On the way to school, she met up with two of her school friends, Sakura and Hiko, both of them girls that, like Umi, came from rather affluent families.
"Konnichiwa Umi!" they greeted, walking up to either side of her.
"Konnichiwa Sakura. Konnichiwa Hiko," she replied calmly, a smile creeping across her face. Her friends always had this way of cheering her up with their jovial attitudes.
"Hey, Umi, who are you going to the Sakura festival dance with?" Hiko asked, her eyes all aglow. She was going with the guy that she had been crushing on for a long time.
Umi's smile disappeared. This was a touchy subject. "No one," she replied sadly. It wasn't that she hadn't gotten any offers; in fact it was the complete opposite. She had gotten offers from three or four guys, some of which had even asked a couple of times, but she turned all of them down every time, for reasons unknown to everyone except two special people.
Her friends looked shocked at her response. "No one?" Hiko whispered in disbelief. "Are you not going tonight?"
Umi shook her head. Why should she go to a dance when she had no one to go with?
"Oh, come on Umi! You have to go!" Sakura said, trying to persuade her stubborn friend.
"Umi, think of how much fun it'll be! You always used to go to it! Why have you been avoiding the dance these past few years? I don't think so!" Hiko said, her mind set on making Umi go. "Plus it's our last year in high school, and you'll never have a chance like this again, for all you know!"
Umi sighed. It was going to be a long day, and she wasn't really up for a fight at the moment. "I'll go on one condition," she replied, giving in. "You guys can't set me up with anyone, okay?"
Her friends nodded happily, smiling widely.
"You have to promise to dance with at least one guy who asks you, though, okay?" Hiko edged in hopefully.
She was in luck; Umi was not in a fighting mood that morning. "Fine," she replied sighing heavily, dreading the coming night.
Hiko and Sakura squealed happily and skipped ahead to school.
**************************************************************************** ************************************************
That night, Umi stood in Hiko's living room, dressed up for the upcoming dance. She was clothed in a shimmering midnight blue full-skirt, floor- length, strapless dress that was covered in silver stars. The skirt of the dress faded from the blue of the night sky at the waist to virgin white at the bottom. She had on a silver necklace with a sapphire dragon pendant on it and a silver armband, encrusted with sparkling sapphires, encircled her right upper arm. She wore silk silver slippers underneath it all that made soft noises when she walked. Her hair was up in a braided bun with the exception of two tendrils that were left down to frame her elegant face. The bun was covered in small diamonds that sparkled in the dim light of the room. She nervously wrung her white-gloved hands ever so slightly (to avoid notice) and smiled, showing bright white teeth.
"Oh, Umi, dear, you're so beautiful," her mother breathed, raising the camera for a few snapshots, just for memory's sake.
"Kaa-san," she groaned through the smile for the camera. "Not in front of my friends please, kaa-san."
"Oh, chill out, Umi-chan," Hiko scolded, giving her the wagging finger.
"Geez, Umi-chan, you'd think that you were going against your will or something, the way you're acting," Sakura commented with a smile, twirling around. "Besides, you are drop dead gorgeous, and you should be proud of it!"
"You only wish you could look like this," Umi gloated jokingly.
"Let's go!" Hiko cried, looking at the clock. The dance was going to start soon.
"Sayonara, minna!" Umi cried with a wave back to the people who were staying at the house.
The three girls stepped into an elegant white limo adorned with sakura petals on the inside. The driver quickly drove them to the prep school and dropped them off; driving off with the promise to be back after the dance was over.
Umi heaved a large sigh. It was going to be a long night. Carefully she repressed all thoughts of Cephiro and the master mage and walked into her school cool and collected.
Umi walked into the prep school with Hiko and Sakura, fully aware of what to expect in the way of decorations, as she had been to one of these dances before. What she saw was definitely not what she had expected.
The entire place was decorated with delicate sakura flowers and their beautiful petals. She hardly recognized the main hallway because it was so changed. Pale pink and yellow streamers hung across the hallway from locker to locker with cherry blossoms hanging from them, making the usually very dull and boring hallway alive with color.
Umi heard the faint booming noise of music being played in the gymnasium.
The three friends shuffled across all the precious petals on the floor of the hallways, walking towards the gymnasium and the music.
As soon as she opened the gym doors, Umi was blasted backwards by the overly loud music blaring from speakers set up all around the room and disguised by, once again, cherry blossoms.
Girls and guys were dancing in the center of the floor with tables situated along the perimeter of the room and the snack and drink tables in the back.
Pink quartz replications of sakura flowers decorated the tables that were set up along the perimeter of the room while the real things hung from the ceiling and decorated the walls. Diamond and crystal prisms also hung from the ceiling and as the dim light hit them, a spectrum of colors covered the room. Crepe paper and streamers hung everywhere, and any place you looked there were probably balloons.
More magnificent than any of this were the people. In that room was the largest array of dresses and suits that Umi had ever seen in one spot in her entire life, and that was saying something.
Most people had already paired up with someone and were dancing in the gym, but there were still some loners that were either waiting for someone or were searching the crowd.
Hiko and Sakura immediately ran off and joined their dates.
"Good luck Umi!" Hiko yelled back, referring to the promise to dance with one guy.
"And don't you dare forget your promise!" Sakura added, knowing full well that Umi would try to "accidentally" forget about the whole thing.
Umi forced a smile that she hoped would get them to go away. She wanted some time alone with her thoughts before she had to deal with any more people, especially her friends.
Though they knew the smile was forced, Hiko and Sakura really had no choice but to leave with their dates and leave Umi to her own devices.
Umi walked over to one of the empty tables and sat down, in a nostalgic mood. No matter how much she tried to repress them, the thoughts of her time in Cephiro just kept coming back; thoughts of a lavender-haired man, thoughts of a brown-haired boy, thoughts of Hikaru and Fuu and Ferio and Lantis.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that Umi didn't notice the boy who had come up and sat next to her at the table until he started talking.
"Konbawa, Umi," he said in a deep, sexy voice that would make most girls die.
"Konbawa, Kenji," she replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Kenji Sakanawa, the biggest jock, and possibly most popular guy in school, had been after her for months. He was one of the annoying and egotistical guys who had asked her out multiple times. In Umi's not-so- humble humble opinion, he was a jerk.
Tonight he was wearing a jet-black tuxedo with pants that matched his messy black hair and complemented his icy green eyes. Umi was surprised to see that he wore no corsage. Most girls would literally DIE to go to a dance with him.
"You look very beautiful tonight. Would you like to dance?" he asked, lending her his hand.
Umi thought. She could go and dance with him and get the promise she had made out of the way, while also experiencing the worst five minutes of her life, or she could decline, possibly receive no more offers, break the promise, but refrain from experiencing the worst five minutes of her life.
She made the decision quickly, so as not to appear as reluctant or hesitant. She placed her elegant, pale hand in his large, tan one and he pulled her up from her chair, her skirt making shushing noises in the process.
Kenji's smile was wide and authentic as the two walked out onto the dance floor. Umi forced hers, and even then it was small. The thoughts of Cephiro that Kenji had interrupted had not quite stopped flowing yet.
Kenji went up to the DJ and quietly requested a song, to which the DJ nodded and replied with a change in song order.
As soon as the previous song ended, the request from Kenji came on.
Sha-la-la-la Oh, my my
Kiss the girl, mmm wow
There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don't got a lot to say
But there's something about her
And you don't know why
But you're dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl
Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
It's possible she wants you, too
There is one way to ask her
It don't take a word
Not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl
Kiss the girl
Umi kind of zoned out through the middle of the song. The lyrics were a little obvious, even for Kenji. They were also repetitive, and Umi got tired of them.
Towards the end of the song, she realized that Kenji was slowly pulling her
closer to him.
You gonna kiss the girl
You gonna kiss the girl
Sha-la-la-la-la
Oh, my my
You gonna kiss the girl
You gonna miss the girl
Kiss the girl
You know you want to
Go over there and kiss her
As the song ended, Umi found herself dancing very close to Kenji (not by choice or preference of course), feeling very awkward. His right hand held onto her waist very possessively, and she wasn't sure she liked that hold very much.
The moonlight suddenly broke through the cloud cover and poured into the gymnasium. It washed over Umi and Kenji slowly, illuminating his eager eyes.
Umi was beginning to think that she should pull away before things escalated, when suddenly they did.
Kenji leaned his face in towards hers and their lips met. He tried to force his tongue into her mouth immediately, but Umi quickly pulled away from him, fire in her eyes.
She broke away from his strong grip, running to one of the gym doors and bursting out of it and into the night air.
Umi breathed in the fresh, crisp air, letting it fill her lungs with calmness and peace. A lone tear streaked down her cheek, falling onto her silk glove. The moonlight illuminated her face as she turned it up to the night sky and began to sing.
It has been so long
Since we have talked
I hope that things are still the same
Hoping they will never change
Cuz what we had
Can't be replaced
Don't let our memories fade away
Keep me in your heart for always
You made me believe
I can do almost anything
Stood there by me
Through the tears
Through everything
I'll remember you
And baby that's forever true
You're the one I'll always miss
Never thought it would feel like this
I'll be there for you
No matter what you're goin' through
In my heart you'll always be
Forever baby
I'll remember you
The wind carried her song up to the stars and the stars sang along with her, twinkling brightly as they did.
I'll promise you I won't forget
The times we shared
The tears we cried
You'll always be the sun in my sky
It may be fate that brings us back
To meet again someday
Even though we go separate ways
You made me believe
That I could do almost anything
You stood right by me
Through the tears through everything
I'll remember you
And baby that's forever true
You're the one I'll always miss
Never thought it would feel like this
I'll be there for you
No matter what you're goin' through
In my heart you'll always be
Forever baby
I'll remember you
If the day should come when you need someone
You know that I'll follow
I will be there
Don't ever let there be a doubt in your mind
Cuz I'll remember you
You
I'll remember you
And baby that's forever true
You're the one I'll always miss
Never thought it would feel like this
I'll be there for you
No matter what you're goin' through
In my heart you'll always be
Forever baby
I'll remember you
Forever baby
I'll remember you
Umi smiled when she ended the song, the tears coursing down her cheeks.
The black storm clouds that had formed above, sometime during her song, moved into position for a rain.
Umi remained where she was, prepared for the rain. She would let it fall on her, washing away her sorrows and making her whole again.
Then it began; a pour down of rain without thunder or lightning. It washed over the depressed teenager, pulling down her hair and streaking the little make-up that she was wearing. Her tears mixed with the rain in running down her face in little rivulets. The rain worsened her sorrow, making her long for the one that she loved.
She felt a pang in her heart, realizing that she might have betrayed him. He may not want her anymore. The rain just kept falling, oblivious to her state.
Umi looked up at the sky and the tears of the sky splattered on her face, attempting to wash away the taint on her lips and the sorrow in her soul.
The dragon pendant on her necklace started to glow softly and suddenly shone with a bright blue light, creating a portal that sucked Umi in; whisking her away from the cruel world she called Earth.
**************************************************************************** ************************************************
When Umi became conscious again, she found herself still clad in her dress, but she was lying down on something soft, a bed maybe.
She sat up and looked around the room in which she had woken up and saw a figure sitting in a chair, apparently lightly dozing. A shaft on sunlight from a ceiling window fell on his handsome face, illuminating his lavender hair and pale facial features. His arms were crossed over his chest and there was a bowl full of water and a not-so-clean white cloth on a small table next to him. He was clothed in light ceremonial robes and a tall staff leaned against the wall nearest to him.
Clef! Umi's mind screamed. She wanted to leap out of the bed and throw her arms around him, but her fatigue stopped her.
She succeeded in making a small squealing noise in her excitement to see him and woke up the figure.
Entrancing blue eyes opened slowly, beginning to focus on the person lying on the bed. A smile crossed Clef's face as he realized that she was awake.
"Umi, you're awake," he stated simply, getting up from his chair slowly.
Umi just nodded. She wasn't quite sure if her voice worked correctly right now. Whether or not that was due to his suddenly abnormal and surprisingly tall height or her tiredness was trivial at the moment.
Clef walked over to the bed and looked at her face for a few moments, his smile growing wider. "I've missed you, very much, Umi," he said, his eyes shining with joy.
Umi's eyes brimmed with tears. It was so great to be back in this place that she loved so much! "I've missed you too, Clef," she replied softly, finding her voice and smiling broadly.
Clef's eyes suddenly became a little more serious. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of the door to the room opening.
A brown-haired head poked in the door.
"Umi, you're awake!" Ascot cried, running in to greet her. He stared at her for a moment to make sure she was real and then enveloped her in a bone- crushing hug.
"Ascot," she choked out, suffocating. Her tone of voice told it all.
"Gomen, Umi-chan," he apologized, letting her go. "I'm just excited that you're up. You've been out for three days."
"Three days?!" Umi exclaimed, feeling a flood of anxiety fill her veins. "Oh... my... god! My parents must be soooo worried about me! Oh my god! What am I going to do?! And... and... Oh god... What about Kenji?"
"Yeah, what about this Kenji guy? Did you finally find yourself a man?" Caldina asked from the doorway, Lafarga standing right behind her.
Umi blushed. "No," she snapped quietly. Caldina knew her secret, and was very good at teasing her about it.
Umi didn't notice it, but Lafarga saw Clef let out a small sigh of relief upon her response to the question.
"Well, ah just wanted to see what was goin' on. Lafarga and ah have to go meet up with some buffle-brained ambassadors now, so ah guess ah'll see y'all later!" Caldina said, waving to Umi with her left hand. Umi thought she caught the glint of metal on Caldina's waving hand, but she shook her head. It must have been a lingering tear from before.
"I should probably go, too, but I'll see you at lunch?" Ascot asked hopefully. He had a couple of pressing matters to discuss with her, matters that directly involved her.
Umi nodded, her smile was so wide that her face would surely split in half any second. Her life couldn't get any better than it was at that moment. She was in the one place that she truly belonged with the one person that she truly belonged with. What could be any better?
What could be any better? Umi asked herself rhetorically. If that one person that you truly belonged with knew that you two truly belonged together, her mind said smugly. Shut up, she told it. Ouch, that was touchy.
Clef was looking at her expectantly, as if waiting for an answer to something. "What did you say?" Umi asked, realizing that he had been talking to her while she was engaged in her battle of wills.
"I asked if you wanted to take a walk through the gardens with me," he repeated. Umi smiled again.
"I would love to walk with you," she replied, special emphasis on the word "love". She got out of the bed and walked across the floor of the room towards the door, following Clef into the magnificent Cephiran palace gardens.
As soon as the two stepped outside of the palace, the noon sun beat down on and nourished plants of all shapes and sizes. The rose bushes dominated most of the gardens in all colors; yellow, white, red, and pink.
Clef lead her through the gardens to a maze that had six-foot high walls. Umi raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Why did you-" Umi started. She was silenced by the look in Clef's eyes. He seemed to know what he was doing, so Umi shut up and followed him closely. She dimly noticed two other entrances, but Clef completely ignored them.
The maze wound left and right until Umi was sure that if she tried to find her way back to the entrance, it would be nigh impossible, and she would probably be lost forever.
Finally, Clef stopped walking. There were no more twists, turns, high walls, or sickening flower fragrance.
Umi tried to look around him to see what he was staring at, but she couldn't see due to his height change.
Clef smiled when he saw that Umi was trying to see what was ahead. He stepped to one side to allow her the magnificent view that he was seeing.
Umi gasped in awe. It was beautiful!
There was a fountain in the middle of a small courtyard. The floor of the courtyard consisted of intricate blue and silver tiles that also formed the fountain. The fountain was formed in the shape of Selece, with his mouth spurting out the water and his tail forming the edge of the basin into which the water fell. Selece brandished an ornate sapphire blue rapier in his left hand and appeared to be thrusting the sword into some unknown enemy. The water itself was a clear crystalline blue that was transparent all the way down to the porcelain bottom. Sapphires were embedded in the rim of the fountain and they spelled the words: "Guardian of Selece and Magic Knight of Water: Ryuuzaki Umi". The rose bushes around the perimeter of the courtyard were pale blue and in full bloom.
Umi was speechless.
"This was created by the people of Cephiro as a monument to you and Selece," Clef said quietly, indicating the fountain. "There is also one for Hikaru and Rayearth as well as one for Fuu and Windam."
"It's beautiful," Umi breathed, still taking in the sight.
Clef fought an inner battle with himself. He could either risk telling Umi that he loved her and possibly be rejected, or keep his feelings secret, knowing that if he did, he may never again have this chance.
"It's not as beautiful as you are," he mumbled, hoping against all hope that she would hear him.
His hope was lost. Umi was too absorbed in the sight to hear him.
He was going to repeat it, louder this time, when he was interrupted.
"Miss Umi, and Mister Clef sir, your lunch is ready," a servant clad in a pure white robe informed them with a bow.
Umi smiled and nodded her thanks, following the servant back to the palace.
"Darnit!" Clef cursed under his breath. He had lost his chance. All of the courage that he had mustered flowed out of him. Then, he too, followed the servant boy and Umi out of the maze and to the palace.
**************************************************************************** ************************************************
Once in the palace, Umi was directed to the dining room where lunch would be held. As soon as she entered the room, Ascot gestured to her to come and sit next to him.
Umi obeyed and sat down in the chair next to him.
"Umi, I have something to ask you," Ascot said seriously, wringing his hands.
"Yes?" Umi replied.
"Can we just be friends?" At seeing her relieved look, he mistook it for hurt and added, "I mean, I know you like me and all, but I, well, I found someone else. someone who suits me better. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't disappoint her either. I mean suddenly you just, well, showed up, and-"
Umi cut him off. "Ascot I don't want to be anything more than friends either. I also have my heart set on someone else." She said that last part quietly. Whether or not that person also has their heart set on me has yet to be seen, she thought ruefully.
Ascot just smiled warmly. "I'm so relieved," he admitted with a sigh.
Then lunch began, and pleasant conversation on recent happenings in Cephiro passed between the two.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully as Umi got reacquainted with the palace of Cephiro and its peoples.
Clef tried three times to get her alone and talk about their feelings, but he failed each time, she was just too busy every single time.
Dinner passed without any further event, and Clef approached Umi afterwards.
"Umi, I want to take you to the fountain again. There's something that you didn't see before," he told her, keeping his voice down to avoid the notice of others.
Umi opened her mouth to speak, but thought the better of it, and closed it nodding her assent.
"Good. Meet me there in one hour," Clef ordered, disappearing.
Umi's mind whirled. This was the perfect time to tell him that she loved him, but she didn't know how in the world she would do it. Should she approach him, or was he going to approach her? Her mind was in agony for the next hour, weighing the pros and cons of each side.
Finally, the hour was up. Still clothed in her dance finery, although it was cleaned up quite a bit from before, she headed out to the fountain under the light of the full moon and the numerous stars.
She picked her way carefully, not wanting to trip on some unseen root in the path and hit some rose thorns. Umi had paid more attention to the directions to the fountain on her way to lunch, and thus now knew her way around the maze.
She was still deciding what path to take towards Clef when she reached the fountain.
There he was, sitting on the edge of the fountain, waiting for her.
All other thoughts flew out of her mind when she saw him. Her heart started to flutter and her breath caught in her throat. He was so beautiful.
The starlight fell down upon him and caught in his pale lavender hair, dancing around in the short locks. His shining blue eyes had captured the beauty and light of the moon reflecting off of the pure fountain water. He was running his hand back and forth through the fountain's clear water slowly, and when he brought it out, the droplets sparkled as they fell back into the water, taking some of his abundance of inner light with them.
"Clef," she croaked out, approaching him, her voice caught in her throat.
The master mage flinched. He hadn't noticed that she was there. He turned around slowly and stared at Umi for a long moment.
She was magnificent. The moon outlined her head and gave a semblance of a halo above her head. And that's what she was to Clef: angelic. Even without makeup, her face was pale and smooth and without blemishes. Her elegant fingers were clasped in front of her, and this really did give her the look of a fallen angel. He didn't need to see her wings to know that she was an angel; he already knew it.
Clef recovered and smiled edgily at Umi, patting the edge of the basin next to him.
Umi obeyed complacently, sitting next to her secret love.
Her nerves were worse than they could ever be. She had decided that she would confront him on the subject and tell him straight out how she felt for him.
Minutes passed until finally they broke the silence.
"Clef."
"Umi."
They both said each other's names at the same time. They both blushed and Umi turned to face Clef.
She looked into his blue orbs and she saw it all there. She didn't have to worry anymore.
"Clef, I. I." she started, still unable to get the words out. She broke the eye contact, looking down at her hand.
Clef suddenly realized what she was trying to tell him. He got up from the fountain and Umi looked up at him inquisitively.
"Umi, I love you too," he said, his voice husky, hoping that he had guessed right.
Umi's eyes formed small tears of joy as his words processed in her mind.
"Oh, Clef!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck.
He looked shocked for a moment and then his face changed to a content smile. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, hugging her with all the ferocity of his love for her.
"Umi." he said in her ear.
She pulled her head back and made eye contact with him once again.
Then they kissed.
Their lips met under the light of the night sky with the stars and moon as the only witnesses. Their passion was bathed in heavenly light that illuminated the tears making small trails down Umi's cheeks. Then and forever, time stopped, and the world ceased to exist all around them. All that mattered was each other and the love they shared.
They broke apart reluctantly, wanting time to stay stopped, but also feeling the need to breath air.
"I'll never, ever let you go," Clef said with a smile.
Umi just laughed her cute little tinkling laugh. "Then we'll be stuck like this forever," she said.
"Sounds good to me," he replied, tightening his grip on her waist.
"Me too," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder once again.
They stayed like that for minutes on end until they finally broke away from each other.
Umi looked up into his eyes lovingly and grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers as they both sat back down on the edge of the fountain.
Umi tried to repress a yawn, but was unsuccessful. She had had a tiresome day, and it was rather late at night. She put her head on Clef's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her loosely in a possessive manner, one that Umi liked.
"Tired?" he asked her quietly, his lips brushing her ear, making her shiver. "Cold?"
"Tired, but not cold. No, very warm," Umi replied closing her eyes in content. She was smiling softly, filled with joy.
"Would you like me to sing you a lullaby?" he asked her quietly. Umi mumbled something that sounded like "I'm not a baby," and Clef chuckled. "You're right. You're not a baby."
"Sing to me anyways," she said, articulating her words more clearly this time.
Clef smiled and began to hum the melody of the song, and then started singing the lyrics to his beloved Umi to help her sleep, stroking her hair gently at the same time.
Close your eyes, go to sleep
Little angel of mine
When you wake I'll be there
Little angel of mine.
There's a star in the sky
And it's shining for you
Make a wish tonight
All your dreams can come true.
My arms will be around you
Kiss your tears away
I'll comfort and protect you
Never be afraid.
Close your eyes, go to sleep
Little angel of mine
When you wake I'll be there
Little angel of mine.
My arms will be around you
Kiss your tears away
I'll comfort and protect you
Never be afraid.
Close you eyes, go to sleep
Little angel of mine
When you wake I'll be there
Little angel of mine.
I will watch over you
Little angel of mine.
His beautiful voice drifted off at the end of the song, restoring the quiet once again. He listened carefully and heard the deep breathing of his koibito.
He gently picked her up, careful not to wake his angel. He walked all they to her rooms and placed her in the bed, tucking her in and planting a soft kiss on her forehead. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and crossed his arms, ready to sleep.
"Goodnight, my sweet Umi," he said, closing his eyes. "I'll always love you forever, little angel of mine."
End
AN: Okay, this is set after the second series, but I haven't seen the whole thing yet, so there shouldn't be any major spoilers. At least I don't think there are. I'll warn you if there are. This is the first of four consecutive short stories about Umi and Clef and I hope you like them. I have to admit that I do have trouble with characters being OOC, so just as fair warning, watch out. Hikaru and Fuu and Lantis and Ferio don't come into play in this first installment, but I am planning to have them in the second one.
This story is, and forever will be dedicated to my sweet, sweet Clef. Oh yeah, and my friends Aemilia Rose and Zsa Zsa Sphinx!
Little Angel of Mine
By Danielle of Airls
Umi opened her eyes and gazed into the unending landscape of nothingness. All around her she saw nothing, heard nothing, and when she reached out, she felt nothing. There was no light in this place that she was in, but there was no darkness either. She could see everything so very clearly, and yet she saw nothing at all. There was no ground, no sky, no air to breath, yet stand she did, and breathe she did.
Out of the nothingness, a figure materialized. It was a figure with masculine features that included a bush of lavender hair atop his head and shining blue eyes that looked as though they could bore through her soul.
Umi couldn't believe her eyes; Clef was here, on Earth! She tried to take a step forward, but her body refused to obey. Her feet felt rooted in place.
"Umi," he said quietly. "I love you... I love you so much... Do you love me?"
Umi bent all her willpower on trying to open her mouth and say that one simple word, the one simple "yes" that would let him know how deeply she felt her love for him.
For one moment, one joyous and blissful moment, she thought that she had succeeded when her mouth opened to speak, but as soon as she let her guard down, a voice that she knew was hers, but sounded far from it, said, "No."
Umi was crying out inside, her mind and heart screaming of treachery and betrayal. How dare she say that to him? But her outside appearance didn't change one bit.
Clef looked shocked and hurt. His blue eyes quickly changed from hopeful to sad at the sound of that one monosyllabic word, which was not the one he had been expecting to hear. His usually stoic demeanor morphed into one of depression and despair as his eyes filled with liquid sorrow.
Umi wanted to just reach out and make everything all right with a "yes, I do love you" or a "just kidding" or even a "yes" would have been nice.
Clef finally turned his back to her and walked away, fading into the nothingness from whence he had come.
Umi regained control of her body as soon as he disappeared, immediately slumping to the floor, her head falling into her hands. The tears started flowing and they didn't stop. She felt a small puddle form around her, but she didn't stop crying.
"I... love... you... Clef..." she choked out, crying even harder after the confession.
That's when she felt it.
The ground, if there was one in this empty place, suddenly fell through and she began falling into the darkness, and this time there really was no light. No light, no sound, and no emotion.
Umi was a cold lifeless form tumbling down into an endless abyss. This was the end. She greeted it happily.
*************************************************************************** ************************************************
Umi awoke suddenly in the middle of the night. She glanced over at her Waterford crystal clock and saw that it was close to two o'clock in the morning.
She ran a hand through her disheveled blue hair. That had been the worst nightmare so far. She had been unable to tell Clef of her feelings.
Lifting her head off of the feathered pillow, Umi sat up, pushing away the heavy comforter and silk sheets.
She threw her slim legs over the edge of the king-sized bed and onto the cold tiled floor. Umi's nightgown made a soft swishing noise as she walked over to her window seat, her mind on a one-way track.
She carefully lifted the pillowed lid on the window seat noiselessly and reached inside, pulling out a small glass box. The box had not a speck of dust on it, and you could see what was inside very clearly.
There was an intricate headdress inside the box. It had gold trimming around purple and blue stones with a large blue horn protruding from where the middle of the forehead would be.
Umi gazed longingly at the headdress, closing the window seat. She sat down and put the delicate glass box across from her. The moonlight fell on the object inside the box and the stones and gold sparkled to life.
Two crystal tears fell onto the glass, splattering the surface with sadness.
Umi just sat and cried for a few moments before replacing the headdress in the window seat and returning to her bed.
She crawled under the covers, banished all thoughts of her beloved master magician and fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep.
**************************************************************************** ************************************************
"Ready for school, honey?" a woman asked the teenager who was primping her appearance in the mirror.
"Yes, kaa-san," Ryuuzaki Umi replied, brushing away one last tendril of cerulean hair out of her aquamarine eyes. She slowly got up from her vanity chair brushing out the few wrinkles in her pleated blue skirt, part of the prep school uniform.
Her mother smiled warmly and opened the door for her daughter. "Here's the money for your lunch, sweetie," she said, handing Umi some yen.
"Arigato, kaa-san," Umi replied, taking the paper money and heading out the door of the mansion which was her home and walking to school.
On the way to school, she met up with two of her school friends, Sakura and Hiko, both of them girls that, like Umi, came from rather affluent families.
"Konnichiwa Umi!" they greeted, walking up to either side of her.
"Konnichiwa Sakura. Konnichiwa Hiko," she replied calmly, a smile creeping across her face. Her friends always had this way of cheering her up with their jovial attitudes.
"Hey, Umi, who are you going to the Sakura festival dance with?" Hiko asked, her eyes all aglow. She was going with the guy that she had been crushing on for a long time.
Umi's smile disappeared. This was a touchy subject. "No one," she replied sadly. It wasn't that she hadn't gotten any offers; in fact it was the complete opposite. She had gotten offers from three or four guys, some of which had even asked a couple of times, but she turned all of them down every time, for reasons unknown to everyone except two special people.
Her friends looked shocked at her response. "No one?" Hiko whispered in disbelief. "Are you not going tonight?"
Umi shook her head. Why should she go to a dance when she had no one to go with?
"Oh, come on Umi! You have to go!" Sakura said, trying to persuade her stubborn friend.
"Umi, think of how much fun it'll be! You always used to go to it! Why have you been avoiding the dance these past few years? I don't think so!" Hiko said, her mind set on making Umi go. "Plus it's our last year in high school, and you'll never have a chance like this again, for all you know!"
Umi sighed. It was going to be a long day, and she wasn't really up for a fight at the moment. "I'll go on one condition," she replied, giving in. "You guys can't set me up with anyone, okay?"
Her friends nodded happily, smiling widely.
"You have to promise to dance with at least one guy who asks you, though, okay?" Hiko edged in hopefully.
She was in luck; Umi was not in a fighting mood that morning. "Fine," she replied sighing heavily, dreading the coming night.
Hiko and Sakura squealed happily and skipped ahead to school.
**************************************************************************** ************************************************
That night, Umi stood in Hiko's living room, dressed up for the upcoming dance. She was clothed in a shimmering midnight blue full-skirt, floor- length, strapless dress that was covered in silver stars. The skirt of the dress faded from the blue of the night sky at the waist to virgin white at the bottom. She had on a silver necklace with a sapphire dragon pendant on it and a silver armband, encrusted with sparkling sapphires, encircled her right upper arm. She wore silk silver slippers underneath it all that made soft noises when she walked. Her hair was up in a braided bun with the exception of two tendrils that were left down to frame her elegant face. The bun was covered in small diamonds that sparkled in the dim light of the room. She nervously wrung her white-gloved hands ever so slightly (to avoid notice) and smiled, showing bright white teeth.
"Oh, Umi, dear, you're so beautiful," her mother breathed, raising the camera for a few snapshots, just for memory's sake.
"Kaa-san," she groaned through the smile for the camera. "Not in front of my friends please, kaa-san."
"Oh, chill out, Umi-chan," Hiko scolded, giving her the wagging finger.
"Geez, Umi-chan, you'd think that you were going against your will or something, the way you're acting," Sakura commented with a smile, twirling around. "Besides, you are drop dead gorgeous, and you should be proud of it!"
"You only wish you could look like this," Umi gloated jokingly.
"Let's go!" Hiko cried, looking at the clock. The dance was going to start soon.
"Sayonara, minna!" Umi cried with a wave back to the people who were staying at the house.
The three girls stepped into an elegant white limo adorned with sakura petals on the inside. The driver quickly drove them to the prep school and dropped them off; driving off with the promise to be back after the dance was over.
Umi heaved a large sigh. It was going to be a long night. Carefully she repressed all thoughts of Cephiro and the master mage and walked into her school cool and collected.
Umi walked into the prep school with Hiko and Sakura, fully aware of what to expect in the way of decorations, as she had been to one of these dances before. What she saw was definitely not what she had expected.
The entire place was decorated with delicate sakura flowers and their beautiful petals. She hardly recognized the main hallway because it was so changed. Pale pink and yellow streamers hung across the hallway from locker to locker with cherry blossoms hanging from them, making the usually very dull and boring hallway alive with color.
Umi heard the faint booming noise of music being played in the gymnasium.
The three friends shuffled across all the precious petals on the floor of the hallways, walking towards the gymnasium and the music.
As soon as she opened the gym doors, Umi was blasted backwards by the overly loud music blaring from speakers set up all around the room and disguised by, once again, cherry blossoms.
Girls and guys were dancing in the center of the floor with tables situated along the perimeter of the room and the snack and drink tables in the back.
Pink quartz replications of sakura flowers decorated the tables that were set up along the perimeter of the room while the real things hung from the ceiling and decorated the walls. Diamond and crystal prisms also hung from the ceiling and as the dim light hit them, a spectrum of colors covered the room. Crepe paper and streamers hung everywhere, and any place you looked there were probably balloons.
More magnificent than any of this were the people. In that room was the largest array of dresses and suits that Umi had ever seen in one spot in her entire life, and that was saying something.
Most people had already paired up with someone and were dancing in the gym, but there were still some loners that were either waiting for someone or were searching the crowd.
Hiko and Sakura immediately ran off and joined their dates.
"Good luck Umi!" Hiko yelled back, referring to the promise to dance with one guy.
"And don't you dare forget your promise!" Sakura added, knowing full well that Umi would try to "accidentally" forget about the whole thing.
Umi forced a smile that she hoped would get them to go away. She wanted some time alone with her thoughts before she had to deal with any more people, especially her friends.
Though they knew the smile was forced, Hiko and Sakura really had no choice but to leave with their dates and leave Umi to her own devices.
Umi walked over to one of the empty tables and sat down, in a nostalgic mood. No matter how much she tried to repress them, the thoughts of her time in Cephiro just kept coming back; thoughts of a lavender-haired man, thoughts of a brown-haired boy, thoughts of Hikaru and Fuu and Ferio and Lantis.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that Umi didn't notice the boy who had come up and sat next to her at the table until he started talking.
"Konbawa, Umi," he said in a deep, sexy voice that would make most girls die.
"Konbawa, Kenji," she replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Kenji Sakanawa, the biggest jock, and possibly most popular guy in school, had been after her for months. He was one of the annoying and egotistical guys who had asked her out multiple times. In Umi's not-so- humble humble opinion, he was a jerk.
Tonight he was wearing a jet-black tuxedo with pants that matched his messy black hair and complemented his icy green eyes. Umi was surprised to see that he wore no corsage. Most girls would literally DIE to go to a dance with him.
"You look very beautiful tonight. Would you like to dance?" he asked, lending her his hand.
Umi thought. She could go and dance with him and get the promise she had made out of the way, while also experiencing the worst five minutes of her life, or she could decline, possibly receive no more offers, break the promise, but refrain from experiencing the worst five minutes of her life.
She made the decision quickly, so as not to appear as reluctant or hesitant. She placed her elegant, pale hand in his large, tan one and he pulled her up from her chair, her skirt making shushing noises in the process.
Kenji's smile was wide and authentic as the two walked out onto the dance floor. Umi forced hers, and even then it was small. The thoughts of Cephiro that Kenji had interrupted had not quite stopped flowing yet.
Kenji went up to the DJ and quietly requested a song, to which the DJ nodded and replied with a change in song order.
As soon as the previous song ended, the request from Kenji came on.
Sha-la-la-la Oh, my my
Kiss the girl, mmm wow
There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don't got a lot to say
But there's something about her
And you don't know why
But you're dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl
Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
It's possible she wants you, too
There is one way to ask her
It don't take a word
Not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl
Kiss the girl
Umi kind of zoned out through the middle of the song. The lyrics were a little obvious, even for Kenji. They were also repetitive, and Umi got tired of them.
Towards the end of the song, she realized that Kenji was slowly pulling her
closer to him.
You gonna kiss the girl
You gonna kiss the girl
Sha-la-la-la-la
Oh, my my
You gonna kiss the girl
You gonna miss the girl
Kiss the girl
You know you want to
Go over there and kiss her
As the song ended, Umi found herself dancing very close to Kenji (not by choice or preference of course), feeling very awkward. His right hand held onto her waist very possessively, and she wasn't sure she liked that hold very much.
The moonlight suddenly broke through the cloud cover and poured into the gymnasium. It washed over Umi and Kenji slowly, illuminating his eager eyes.
Umi was beginning to think that she should pull away before things escalated, when suddenly they did.
Kenji leaned his face in towards hers and their lips met. He tried to force his tongue into her mouth immediately, but Umi quickly pulled away from him, fire in her eyes.
She broke away from his strong grip, running to one of the gym doors and bursting out of it and into the night air.
Umi breathed in the fresh, crisp air, letting it fill her lungs with calmness and peace. A lone tear streaked down her cheek, falling onto her silk glove. The moonlight illuminated her face as she turned it up to the night sky and began to sing.
It has been so long
Since we have talked
I hope that things are still the same
Hoping they will never change
Cuz what we had
Can't be replaced
Don't let our memories fade away
Keep me in your heart for always
You made me believe
I can do almost anything
Stood there by me
Through the tears
Through everything
I'll remember you
And baby that's forever true
You're the one I'll always miss
Never thought it would feel like this
I'll be there for you
No matter what you're goin' through
In my heart you'll always be
Forever baby
I'll remember you
The wind carried her song up to the stars and the stars sang along with her, twinkling brightly as they did.
I'll promise you I won't forget
The times we shared
The tears we cried
You'll always be the sun in my sky
It may be fate that brings us back
To meet again someday
Even though we go separate ways
You made me believe
That I could do almost anything
You stood right by me
Through the tears through everything
I'll remember you
And baby that's forever true
You're the one I'll always miss
Never thought it would feel like this
I'll be there for you
No matter what you're goin' through
In my heart you'll always be
Forever baby
I'll remember you
If the day should come when you need someone
You know that I'll follow
I will be there
Don't ever let there be a doubt in your mind
Cuz I'll remember you
You
I'll remember you
And baby that's forever true
You're the one I'll always miss
Never thought it would feel like this
I'll be there for you
No matter what you're goin' through
In my heart you'll always be
Forever baby
I'll remember you
Forever baby
I'll remember you
Umi smiled when she ended the song, the tears coursing down her cheeks.
The black storm clouds that had formed above, sometime during her song, moved into position for a rain.
Umi remained where she was, prepared for the rain. She would let it fall on her, washing away her sorrows and making her whole again.
Then it began; a pour down of rain without thunder or lightning. It washed over the depressed teenager, pulling down her hair and streaking the little make-up that she was wearing. Her tears mixed with the rain in running down her face in little rivulets. The rain worsened her sorrow, making her long for the one that she loved.
She felt a pang in her heart, realizing that she might have betrayed him. He may not want her anymore. The rain just kept falling, oblivious to her state.
Umi looked up at the sky and the tears of the sky splattered on her face, attempting to wash away the taint on her lips and the sorrow in her soul.
The dragon pendant on her necklace started to glow softly and suddenly shone with a bright blue light, creating a portal that sucked Umi in; whisking her away from the cruel world she called Earth.
**************************************************************************** ************************************************
When Umi became conscious again, she found herself still clad in her dress, but she was lying down on something soft, a bed maybe.
She sat up and looked around the room in which she had woken up and saw a figure sitting in a chair, apparently lightly dozing. A shaft on sunlight from a ceiling window fell on his handsome face, illuminating his lavender hair and pale facial features. His arms were crossed over his chest and there was a bowl full of water and a not-so-clean white cloth on a small table next to him. He was clothed in light ceremonial robes and a tall staff leaned against the wall nearest to him.
Clef! Umi's mind screamed. She wanted to leap out of the bed and throw her arms around him, but her fatigue stopped her.
She succeeded in making a small squealing noise in her excitement to see him and woke up the figure.
Entrancing blue eyes opened slowly, beginning to focus on the person lying on the bed. A smile crossed Clef's face as he realized that she was awake.
"Umi, you're awake," he stated simply, getting up from his chair slowly.
Umi just nodded. She wasn't quite sure if her voice worked correctly right now. Whether or not that was due to his suddenly abnormal and surprisingly tall height or her tiredness was trivial at the moment.
Clef walked over to the bed and looked at her face for a few moments, his smile growing wider. "I've missed you, very much, Umi," he said, his eyes shining with joy.
Umi's eyes brimmed with tears. It was so great to be back in this place that she loved so much! "I've missed you too, Clef," she replied softly, finding her voice and smiling broadly.
Clef's eyes suddenly became a little more serious. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of the door to the room opening.
A brown-haired head poked in the door.
"Umi, you're awake!" Ascot cried, running in to greet her. He stared at her for a moment to make sure she was real and then enveloped her in a bone- crushing hug.
"Ascot," she choked out, suffocating. Her tone of voice told it all.
"Gomen, Umi-chan," he apologized, letting her go. "I'm just excited that you're up. You've been out for three days."
"Three days?!" Umi exclaimed, feeling a flood of anxiety fill her veins. "Oh... my... god! My parents must be soooo worried about me! Oh my god! What am I going to do?! And... and... Oh god... What about Kenji?"
"Yeah, what about this Kenji guy? Did you finally find yourself a man?" Caldina asked from the doorway, Lafarga standing right behind her.
Umi blushed. "No," she snapped quietly. Caldina knew her secret, and was very good at teasing her about it.
Umi didn't notice it, but Lafarga saw Clef let out a small sigh of relief upon her response to the question.
"Well, ah just wanted to see what was goin' on. Lafarga and ah have to go meet up with some buffle-brained ambassadors now, so ah guess ah'll see y'all later!" Caldina said, waving to Umi with her left hand. Umi thought she caught the glint of metal on Caldina's waving hand, but she shook her head. It must have been a lingering tear from before.
"I should probably go, too, but I'll see you at lunch?" Ascot asked hopefully. He had a couple of pressing matters to discuss with her, matters that directly involved her.
Umi nodded, her smile was so wide that her face would surely split in half any second. Her life couldn't get any better than it was at that moment. She was in the one place that she truly belonged with the one person that she truly belonged with. What could be any better?
What could be any better? Umi asked herself rhetorically. If that one person that you truly belonged with knew that you two truly belonged together, her mind said smugly. Shut up, she told it. Ouch, that was touchy.
Clef was looking at her expectantly, as if waiting for an answer to something. "What did you say?" Umi asked, realizing that he had been talking to her while she was engaged in her battle of wills.
"I asked if you wanted to take a walk through the gardens with me," he repeated. Umi smiled again.
"I would love to walk with you," she replied, special emphasis on the word "love". She got out of the bed and walked across the floor of the room towards the door, following Clef into the magnificent Cephiran palace gardens.
As soon as the two stepped outside of the palace, the noon sun beat down on and nourished plants of all shapes and sizes. The rose bushes dominated most of the gardens in all colors; yellow, white, red, and pink.
Clef lead her through the gardens to a maze that had six-foot high walls. Umi raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Why did you-" Umi started. She was silenced by the look in Clef's eyes. He seemed to know what he was doing, so Umi shut up and followed him closely. She dimly noticed two other entrances, but Clef completely ignored them.
The maze wound left and right until Umi was sure that if she tried to find her way back to the entrance, it would be nigh impossible, and she would probably be lost forever.
Finally, Clef stopped walking. There were no more twists, turns, high walls, or sickening flower fragrance.
Umi tried to look around him to see what he was staring at, but she couldn't see due to his height change.
Clef smiled when he saw that Umi was trying to see what was ahead. He stepped to one side to allow her the magnificent view that he was seeing.
Umi gasped in awe. It was beautiful!
There was a fountain in the middle of a small courtyard. The floor of the courtyard consisted of intricate blue and silver tiles that also formed the fountain. The fountain was formed in the shape of Selece, with his mouth spurting out the water and his tail forming the edge of the basin into which the water fell. Selece brandished an ornate sapphire blue rapier in his left hand and appeared to be thrusting the sword into some unknown enemy. The water itself was a clear crystalline blue that was transparent all the way down to the porcelain bottom. Sapphires were embedded in the rim of the fountain and they spelled the words: "Guardian of Selece and Magic Knight of Water: Ryuuzaki Umi". The rose bushes around the perimeter of the courtyard were pale blue and in full bloom.
Umi was speechless.
"This was created by the people of Cephiro as a monument to you and Selece," Clef said quietly, indicating the fountain. "There is also one for Hikaru and Rayearth as well as one for Fuu and Windam."
"It's beautiful," Umi breathed, still taking in the sight.
Clef fought an inner battle with himself. He could either risk telling Umi that he loved her and possibly be rejected, or keep his feelings secret, knowing that if he did, he may never again have this chance.
"It's not as beautiful as you are," he mumbled, hoping against all hope that she would hear him.
His hope was lost. Umi was too absorbed in the sight to hear him.
He was going to repeat it, louder this time, when he was interrupted.
"Miss Umi, and Mister Clef sir, your lunch is ready," a servant clad in a pure white robe informed them with a bow.
Umi smiled and nodded her thanks, following the servant back to the palace.
"Darnit!" Clef cursed under his breath. He had lost his chance. All of the courage that he had mustered flowed out of him. Then, he too, followed the servant boy and Umi out of the maze and to the palace.
**************************************************************************** ************************************************
Once in the palace, Umi was directed to the dining room where lunch would be held. As soon as she entered the room, Ascot gestured to her to come and sit next to him.
Umi obeyed and sat down in the chair next to him.
"Umi, I have something to ask you," Ascot said seriously, wringing his hands.
"Yes?" Umi replied.
"Can we just be friends?" At seeing her relieved look, he mistook it for hurt and added, "I mean, I know you like me and all, but I, well, I found someone else. someone who suits me better. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't disappoint her either. I mean suddenly you just, well, showed up, and-"
Umi cut him off. "Ascot I don't want to be anything more than friends either. I also have my heart set on someone else." She said that last part quietly. Whether or not that person also has their heart set on me has yet to be seen, she thought ruefully.
Ascot just smiled warmly. "I'm so relieved," he admitted with a sigh.
Then lunch began, and pleasant conversation on recent happenings in Cephiro passed between the two.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully as Umi got reacquainted with the palace of Cephiro and its peoples.
Clef tried three times to get her alone and talk about their feelings, but he failed each time, she was just too busy every single time.
Dinner passed without any further event, and Clef approached Umi afterwards.
"Umi, I want to take you to the fountain again. There's something that you didn't see before," he told her, keeping his voice down to avoid the notice of others.
Umi opened her mouth to speak, but thought the better of it, and closed it nodding her assent.
"Good. Meet me there in one hour," Clef ordered, disappearing.
Umi's mind whirled. This was the perfect time to tell him that she loved him, but she didn't know how in the world she would do it. Should she approach him, or was he going to approach her? Her mind was in agony for the next hour, weighing the pros and cons of each side.
Finally, the hour was up. Still clothed in her dance finery, although it was cleaned up quite a bit from before, she headed out to the fountain under the light of the full moon and the numerous stars.
She picked her way carefully, not wanting to trip on some unseen root in the path and hit some rose thorns. Umi had paid more attention to the directions to the fountain on her way to lunch, and thus now knew her way around the maze.
She was still deciding what path to take towards Clef when she reached the fountain.
There he was, sitting on the edge of the fountain, waiting for her.
All other thoughts flew out of her mind when she saw him. Her heart started to flutter and her breath caught in her throat. He was so beautiful.
The starlight fell down upon him and caught in his pale lavender hair, dancing around in the short locks. His shining blue eyes had captured the beauty and light of the moon reflecting off of the pure fountain water. He was running his hand back and forth through the fountain's clear water slowly, and when he brought it out, the droplets sparkled as they fell back into the water, taking some of his abundance of inner light with them.
"Clef," she croaked out, approaching him, her voice caught in her throat.
The master mage flinched. He hadn't noticed that she was there. He turned around slowly and stared at Umi for a long moment.
She was magnificent. The moon outlined her head and gave a semblance of a halo above her head. And that's what she was to Clef: angelic. Even without makeup, her face was pale and smooth and without blemishes. Her elegant fingers were clasped in front of her, and this really did give her the look of a fallen angel. He didn't need to see her wings to know that she was an angel; he already knew it.
Clef recovered and smiled edgily at Umi, patting the edge of the basin next to him.
Umi obeyed complacently, sitting next to her secret love.
Her nerves were worse than they could ever be. She had decided that she would confront him on the subject and tell him straight out how she felt for him.
Minutes passed until finally they broke the silence.
"Clef."
"Umi."
They both said each other's names at the same time. They both blushed and Umi turned to face Clef.
She looked into his blue orbs and she saw it all there. She didn't have to worry anymore.
"Clef, I. I." she started, still unable to get the words out. She broke the eye contact, looking down at her hand.
Clef suddenly realized what she was trying to tell him. He got up from the fountain and Umi looked up at him inquisitively.
"Umi, I love you too," he said, his voice husky, hoping that he had guessed right.
Umi's eyes formed small tears of joy as his words processed in her mind.
"Oh, Clef!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck.
He looked shocked for a moment and then his face changed to a content smile. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, hugging her with all the ferocity of his love for her.
"Umi." he said in her ear.
She pulled her head back and made eye contact with him once again.
Then they kissed.
Their lips met under the light of the night sky with the stars and moon as the only witnesses. Their passion was bathed in heavenly light that illuminated the tears making small trails down Umi's cheeks. Then and forever, time stopped, and the world ceased to exist all around them. All that mattered was each other and the love they shared.
They broke apart reluctantly, wanting time to stay stopped, but also feeling the need to breath air.
"I'll never, ever let you go," Clef said with a smile.
Umi just laughed her cute little tinkling laugh. "Then we'll be stuck like this forever," she said.
"Sounds good to me," he replied, tightening his grip on her waist.
"Me too," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder once again.
They stayed like that for minutes on end until they finally broke away from each other.
Umi looked up into his eyes lovingly and grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers as they both sat back down on the edge of the fountain.
Umi tried to repress a yawn, but was unsuccessful. She had had a tiresome day, and it was rather late at night. She put her head on Clef's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her loosely in a possessive manner, one that Umi liked.
"Tired?" he asked her quietly, his lips brushing her ear, making her shiver. "Cold?"
"Tired, but not cold. No, very warm," Umi replied closing her eyes in content. She was smiling softly, filled with joy.
"Would you like me to sing you a lullaby?" he asked her quietly. Umi mumbled something that sounded like "I'm not a baby," and Clef chuckled. "You're right. You're not a baby."
"Sing to me anyways," she said, articulating her words more clearly this time.
Clef smiled and began to hum the melody of the song, and then started singing the lyrics to his beloved Umi to help her sleep, stroking her hair gently at the same time.
Close your eyes, go to sleep
Little angel of mine
When you wake I'll be there
Little angel of mine.
There's a star in the sky
And it's shining for you
Make a wish tonight
All your dreams can come true.
My arms will be around you
Kiss your tears away
I'll comfort and protect you
Never be afraid.
Close your eyes, go to sleep
Little angel of mine
When you wake I'll be there
Little angel of mine.
My arms will be around you
Kiss your tears away
I'll comfort and protect you
Never be afraid.
Close you eyes, go to sleep
Little angel of mine
When you wake I'll be there
Little angel of mine.
I will watch over you
Little angel of mine.
His beautiful voice drifted off at the end of the song, restoring the quiet once again. He listened carefully and heard the deep breathing of his koibito.
He gently picked her up, careful not to wake his angel. He walked all they to her rooms and placed her in the bed, tucking her in and planting a soft kiss on her forehead. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and crossed his arms, ready to sleep.
"Goodnight, my sweet Umi," he said, closing his eyes. "I'll always love you forever, little angel of mine."
End