For those of you who are new: Welcome! I hope you enjoy my story; it's almost finished which is very exciting and also nerve wracking. Please be warned: I am terrible about updating on a prompt schedule (ie lots of unannounced hiatuses) but I think the worst of it is over.

For returnees: Welcome back! So this is almost done, and I've decided to go through and extensively edit the first chapters. So far I've only gotten through Chapter 1, but I did make some schematic and chronologically-based mini-edits to the work as a whole.

For everyone: Have fun reading, and know that (~disclaimer for old time's sake~) I own none of CLAMP's Cardcaptor Sakura stuff.

Also potential warning, I guess: stuff can get a little dark later on. Not spoiling too much, but if you have any hesitations please feel free to message me and I can let you know what to expect!

If all the world's a stage, then who's the one pulling the strings?

She stood alone in a pitch black room. The only sound audible was the frantic beating of her heart. The air draped itself around the lone figure, hanging thick and heavy on her slight form. Even though the room was warm, she found herself shivering. Was it the atmosphere of the place that caused her to shudder? She was suddenly aware that she was desperately squeezing a small key in her right hand. It brought her some small comfort, and the girl peered into the dark. She hoped to find some source of light, something to give her a sense of direction.

Suddenly, three beams of light sliced down from an invisible ceiling. One shone in front of her, one to her right, and the final to her left. They illuminated three objects, three choices, three paths that she could take.

To the right, the light rested upon a golden-brown book, inside of which rested pink cards. Each card was adorned with intricate designs; some of figures, some of familiar items, and some of strange objects and patterns. She felt a slight tug towards the book and cards from the hand clutching the key.

To the left, the light shone upon the figure of a small wolf-pup, lying bruised and bloody on its side. He pleaded at the girl with soulful amber eyes. Her heart skipped a beat and her left hand flew towards the injured wolf. Her entire being was split in two; one hand drawn right, the other reaching left. Pain slashed through her as her body continued to pull in two different directions, and she cried out in a broken voice. Drawing both arms to her chest, she slowly centered her eyes on the third beam of light.

This one lay directly in front of the girl, casting a sickly yellow light on a dangling wooden marionette. Its crooked smile was drawn on sloppily. Its blank eyes seemed to stare right through her. Shadows cast half of the carved face into darkness, and the other half seemed all the more illuminated for it. The girl flinched back as the puppet jarringly extended its arms, its wooden parts clinking together in a grating screech. The thing was offering the girl a way out of the horrid choice she had to make between her heart and her duty. A path was gradually illuminated behind the puppet, weaving up and out of the darkness.

She knew the puppet was trying to deceive her, yet she found herself drawn towards the easy out, her feet twitching forward of their own accord. When she found she couldn't backtrack, the girl began to panic. Her eyes were once again drawn to the marionette's painted eyes, and she found them dancing in the sickly light, its smile a more crooked than she had last remembered. She could hear the wolf pup whining pitifully and from the corner of her eye she saw the cards and book begin to glow, but she found she could not turn her head to either side. She had fallen under the spell of the puppet. Taking a deep breath, the girl tried to clear her mind. It would not hold her; she was free of the strings that chained the puppet to whoever was up there in the shadows, taunting her. She would not be a pawn.

Unwillingly, her feet began to once again move forward. The girl frantically tried to stop their motion, but it was to no avail. The puppet beckoned, its painted smile growing long and crooked. The girl's hands reached out jerkily to mirror the puppet's, invisible strings now controlling her motions as well. The key she had been clutching so tightly fell from her hand. It clattered to the floor, a deafening sound in the mute darkness. The beam of light to her right flickered and faded to black, engulfing the book and the cards. Losing the light lent the girl a surge of desperate power, and she was able to turn her head left, towards the wolf. She found it had turned its back on her to lick its bleeding wounds. Its light was also fading. The girl tried to cry out to it, to anyone, but no sound could escape from her open mouth.

Without warning her mouth snapped shut. Her head was jerked back to center, eyes locking on to the puppet. With another involuntary step, she was almost close enough to touch the puppet. Fingers of flesh were inches away from fingers of wood. Another second and the girl would make contact with the still-outstretched hands of the marionette. From above, a low laugh echoed. The light around the puppet intensified. Just one more moment…