(A/N) Everyone, thank you soooo much for your wonderful reviews. Seventeen reviews?! For one chapter?! I think I might faint. I've built up quite a following since the start of Labyrinth. And I'm soooooooo sorry it took me so long to update this. School tried to eat me and this chapter was kind of hard to write. It's really just a series of snapshots that take place over a ten-year period and I promised myself that I wouldn't end the chapter until our principle characters actually met. Hopefully, the next chapter won't be quite so long. Chubby-king-Chocobo, I don't know where the confusion comes from, but only Yuui is a girl. Fai is still a guy.
Some things I forgot to mention in the last chapter. Obviously, the lullaby at the end is from Tarzan. I'm going to try and include at least one lullaby per chapter in this story. This chapter actually has three, and if you happen to know them, more power to you. I should also mention that I'm not going to use a single OC in this story. Every character is from some Clamp work or another.
Without further ado, enjoy chapter two.
La Belle Au Bois Dormant
Chapter 2: I Walked With You
"Oi!" Watanuki called down into the house. "Toss up some more hay!" The little family had been in the cottage almost a week and had thoroughly cleaned out its interior. They had decided it would be best to leave the exterior covered. It would help to hide the small dwelling. But there were several small holes in the thatched roof that needed to be repaired. Watanuki was sitting on the roof now doing just that. Doumeki and Himawari were in the living room below, feeding Fai and Yuui goat's milk from bottles.
"We should probably think about setting wards up around this place," Doumeki commented, completely ignoring Watanuki.
"Won't Yuuko be able to sense that?"
"Not this deep in the forest. There's too much magic here for her to pick out one little warding. Besides, once she's searched all of Valeria, she'll automatically assume we've taken the twins to Faerie."
"But…Yuuko can't get into Faerie."
"Maybe she can't. But she has ways of seeing inside the court. And when she figures out that they aren't there, I'd personally like a little more standing in between them and her legions than a few trees."
"That wasn't a suggestion!" Watanuki snarled. "Unless you want the twins to get rained on and catch cold, you'll get me the rest of that hay!"
Doumeki rolled his eyes and laid Fai down in the rough cradle he'd cobbled together for the babies. Fai whimpered a little at the loss of contact, but soon contented himself with his favorite chew toy…the moon pendant that the young prince had "given" him. Sakura had never gotten around to giving it to Yuui and Doumeki didn't have the heart to take it from him; the little boy loved it so much. Plus, it kept him quiet when he wasn't being held. No such luck with Yuui. She had to be held constantly.
As Doumeki moved to help Watanuki with the last hole, Himawari moved to sit beside the cradle to watch Fai suck on the sapphire moon as his sister continued to suck greedily on her bottle of milk.
"Who's a cute little baby?" she cooed down at him. Fai left off sucking on the pendant and smiled shyly up at Himawari. She wasn't his mother. He could tell that just by the scent of her whenever she held him. But she still made him feel safe and warm. He liked her. He also liked the other two who would hold him and his sister. They were nice.
When Yuui finally decided that she'd had enough milk, she glanced towards her brother and saw him smiling. The little girl giggled with delight and reached her small hand out toward him. Yuui liked it when her brother smiled. Fai, in turn, saw his sister's happy face and reached his own fingers up towards her. Himawari gasped and an enchanted smile spread across her face. She leaned closer to the cradle, allowing their hands to touch. Identical looks of surprise blossomed upon the children's faces at the new sensation. But the surprise soon melted into joy and wonder.
"Watanuki-kun! Doumeki-kun! Come and see!" the animal sprite squealed ecstatically. Doumeki was by her side in an instant, fearing trouble. His approach was followed by an exceedingly loud thump from outside. Watanuki stormed through the door mere moments later, reeking of some foul odor and rubbing his sore backside.
"Not that I don't just love falling off a roof and landing in a pile of horse leavings, but when…you…" the angry faerie's voice faded off into nothing when he saw the twins' fingers twined together. His hands, which had been gesticulating wildly only moments before, dropped uselessly to his sides and a warm, enraptured smile washed away the anger in his eyes. A small smile even tugged at the corner of Doumeki's mouth.
The spell was broken when Himawari laid Yuui down in the cradle next to Fai and the twins fell fast asleep, full, happy, and still holding hands.
"You were saying something?" Doumeki suddenly asked.
"Oh…er…yeah," Watanuki said slowly, trying to remember what it was. "The…uh…roof's finished."
"Good thing, too, because you need a bath and it's about noon. The twins are fed but the rest of us are getting hungry."
Watanuki was about to go off on a screaming tirade when Himawari gracefully leapt to her feet and placed a finger against her lips, pointing toward the cradle to remind him that the babies were asleep. Watanuki cringed slightly, happy that she'd reminded him in time. But he would not let Doumeki have the last word. He turned back to him and started hissing.
"I am not your slave! Make your own damn lunch! And I will take a bath when I'm good and ready!"
Doumeki said nothing. He simply held up three fingers in front of Watanuki's face.
"What the hell?!"
Two fingers.
"What are you doing?!"
One finger.
"I don't-"
Zero fingers.
"Oh, Watanuki-kun, why won't you make lunch? No one can cook like you can," Himawari implored with another oh-so-charming smile.
"Coming right up, Himawari-chan."
XxX
Watanuki grumbled to himself as he trudged through the thick forest.
"Stupid Doumeki. Wanting to set the warding so far away from the house! But still," he mumbled, glancing over his shoulder. "If it's for you…"
Yuui was strapped to his back in a sling made of white rabbit fur. Himawari had made it and one identical to it for Doumeki to carry Fai in. It would take all three of them to set up a descent barrier and none of them felt comfortable leaving the children at home yet. Not even with the Mokona around. Now they were all placed in a circle around the glen where their little cottage was. Yuui with him, Fai with Doumeki, the Mokona with Himawari.
Ready? He asked in his head.
Ready, the other two responded immediately. As one, the three raised their arms and began to chant.
"Oh, things possessing will, gather together with me to twirl the shadows that flicker to create this shape. For the true form of the ultimate one can achieve strength within. Let there be light in that which forms the cornerstone!"
A thin circle of light was drawn in the earth, linking their raised hands. A shimmering wall of light was called into existence for a brief moment. Then it was gone…and their defenses were in place.
XxX
"Mm, how long has it been since we had any sugar?" Himawari sighed dreamily as she hung the washing on a clothesline outside the cottage.
"Probably three months ago…at the naming ceremony," Doumeki commented, not taking his eyes from the task of making new arrows for his bow. He was the only one of them who knew how to shoot. As such, it had become his job to keep the little family supplied with fresh meat. So he had to keep himself supplied with new arrows. It would be more accurate to say that he kept one eye on this particular task. The other eye rested on the twins, laid out on a soft blue quilt. Yuui was dozing peacefully, snuggled up next to the black Mokona, whom they had affectionately dubbed Larg. Fai was lying on his stomach, chewing on his necklace and playing with the white Mokona, whom they'd named Soel.
"If you want, I can take Leval into Shirasagi tomorrow and buy you some, Himawari-chan," Watanuki said cheerfully as he strolled around from behind the cottage, carrying the load of laundry he'd just finished washing. Leval was the family's horse, and the beautiful creature had a coat as white as new snow. They had all decided that it wasn't safe for them to be seen in Valeria. So whenever they needed to do any shopping, one of them would take Leval into Shirasagi, the capital of Nihon.
As Watanuki and Himawari continued to make plans for the sugar, Doumeki turned his full attention to the babies. Soel had grown tired of having its ears pulled and struck back at Fai by snatching the moon necklace from him. Instead of crying, as was his normal wont for an outrage like this, the baby boy's face turned red with anger and he started pounding his tiny fists against the quilt. He wailed, "Mo-mo! Mo-mo!" over and over again. Ah, yes, the twins were speaking now. Yuui had been the first to do so. One morning, when the idiot had been a bit slow taking his turn to feed her, the little princess had proudly screamed, "WATA!" to get his attention. Of course, he and Himawari had gone all to pieces over this and a tuneful cry of, "Himi! Himi!" had followed soon after. Doumeki had been surprised that the two hadn't died of happiness on the spot. And, not long after, he himself had been swept into the happy whirl of speech with Fai's first word.
"Douma!" the princeling had called out, covering his own mouth and giggling, looking rather pleased with himself. Doumeki had picked him up and hugged him, hiding his own smile from the beaming Watanuki and Himawari.
"Good job, little boy," he whispered to him, his voice betraying none of the pride he felt. That emotion was reserved for Fai alone, and it was conveyed through his amber eyes rather than his voice.
As of this very moment, the boy had added Mo-mo to his vocabulary, an obvious reference to Mokona. His face was practically purple with rage and, fearing that he would start sobbing, Doumeki made a move to take the jewelry from Soel. However, Fai's next move stopped him dead in his tracks. The baby raised himself up on all fours, wobbling uncertainly. Then, very slowly, he started to move forward, hand by hand, knee by knee.
"Come and get it! Come and get it!" Soel teased in a singsong voice, bouncing a few paces further from the quilt. Fai continued his slow trek toward the fuzz ball, determined to have his treasure back.
"Watanuki. Kunogi," he called softly. "You might want to see this."
His two companions turned toward him, and saw Soel at their feet…with Fai crawling toward them.
"Oh!" Himawari gasped joyfully. They waited breathlessly for the little one to reach them.
"Come on," Watanuki whispered under his breath. "Just a little farther."
At long last, he reached them and Soel placed the pendant back around his neck. Himawari swept Fai up in her arms and danced around in circles.
"We're so proud of you, Fai-chan!" she sang gleefully.
"You're a vicious sneak thief, aren't you, Soel," Watanuki said with a shake of his head.
"It worked, didn't it?" the Mokona said deviously.
XxX
"Himawari-chan, would you mind passing me another knife?" Watanuki asked as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was the twins' first birthday and he was in the process of putting the icing on a large chocolate cake.
"Of course," Himawari said, complying, and then quickly moving back to her previous task of setting gifts out on the table.
Somewhere in all of this last minute hustle and bustle, the twins themselves had been forgotten. The two of them were sitting under the table. More accurately, Yuui was sitting, watching Fai try to hold himself up by one of the table legs. The little boy released his grip on the wood and, for a moment, he stood on his own, but then, just like all the times before, his little legs buckled under him and he went sprawling to the floor.
Yuui crawled over to her brother, half-expecting him to start crying. But Fai did no such thing. He got back on all fours, looking more determined than ever. Once again, he used the table leg to pull himself up and, yet again, released his hold on his crutch. This time, he remained on his feet.
For a moment, the child looked surprised; as if he'd just discovered a vast pirate treasure. The only one more surprised than Fai was Doumeki, who happened to be walking through the front door at the time. When he saw the little boy standing, unsupported, he silently closed the door behind him and dropped to his knees. He held out his arms toward Fai and waited patiently.
"Come on, Fai," he whispered under his breath. He did not alert Watanuki and Himawari for fear that the slightest noise would break the young one's concentration. Fai looked straight at him, zeroing in on his eyes, as he took his first step.
Another soon followed…and another and another, until Fai was bowling forward at full speed, carried by his own momentum.
"Watanuki-kun! Look!" Himawari shouted as Fai collapsed into Doumeki's waiting arms.
"Moron!" Watanuki scolded, flinging a dishtowel at the other. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Doumeki easily dodged the projectile as he bounced a beaming Fai up and down in his arms. "Didn't want to distract him," he answered simply.
"Oh, Fai-chan's so smart," Himawari cooed, moving over to Doumeki and placing a kiss on the child's small forehead. Not to be left out, Yuui crawled over to Himawari and began tugging incessantly on her skirt, the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
"Don't fret, Yuui-chan," she soothed as she lifted her into her arms and pressed her slight nose lightly against the girl's button one. "You know I love you, too."
"Fai's walking! Fai's walking!" the Mokona cheered together as they bounded around the flower-decorated room.
"Cake's done!" Watanuki said cheerily as he placed his chocolate masterpiece on the table. A single blue candle was set into it. 'Happy Birthday Yuui & Fai' was written intricately across the chocolaty surface in blue icing.
"Happy birthday, twins!" everyone said together as Doumeki and Himawari set the two down on the table in front of their cake.
"Blow out the candle!" Soel instructed excitedly. Watanuki and Himawari both made blowing motions with their faces. Neither child really understood what was going on, but it looked fun, so they decided to copy their guardians. Finally the candle was blown out to thunderous applause. Watanuki began to cut and serve up slices of the confection. Yuui stared curiously at the cake for a few moments…then stuck her hand straight into it and pulled out a fistful.
"Yuui-chan!" Watanuki scolded half-heartedly as the little girl smeared the chocolate cake across her face. Her eyes lit up with delight as her tongue ventured out to taste the sugary treat. Instantly, her hand shot out to grab more cake. Then she reached over and smeared it across her brother's face.
"Yuui-chan, that wasn't nice!" Himawari started to scold. But then she noticed the transcendent look on Fai's face; as if someone had just handed him the keys to paradise. He started rolling around on the table, giggling at the silliness of everything and babbling excitedly at the glorious new taste in his mouth. Yuui started clapping, squealing and giggling just as loudly as her enraptured twin.
"I take it you like chocolate, Fai-chan," Watanuki said, trying to suppress a giggle of his own.
Fai lay completely still for a moment, staring up at the ceiling.
"Chalkit?" he said to himself, licking more of his new god off of his face. Instantly, the contemplative look morphed back into a joyful smile.
"Chalkit!" he shouted, placing his hands over his mouth and shaking with silent laughter. "Chalkit!"
Soel and Larg joined in his merriment, bouncing up and down, yelling, "Chocolate! Chocolate!"
"Chalkit! Chalkit! Chalkit! Chalkit! Chaaaaaaaaalkit!"
However, somewhere in the middle of it all, Soel's eyes grew very large and the red jewel on its forehead started to glow.
"A message from King Reed," Soel announced.
"Really? Then put him through," Watanuki said, quickly removing his apron and attempting to pat down some flyaway hairs. The red gem flashed and an image of Clow Reed suddenly appeared in the air.
"Greetings, Watanuki-kun, Doumeki-kun, Himawari-chan. How are things?"
"Things are well. No problems so far," Watanuki said.
"I called in to wish the twins a happy birthday. I see they enjoy your cooking," he said with a grandfatherly smile, nodding toward Fai. When the twins heard the new voice, they both stilled and turned to see the shimmering image of the faerie king. Fai tilted his head curiously and Yuui pointed and smiled at the new face. "I figured that I should see them while I still can. When they're old enough to remember, I won't be able to show my face anymore. So I thought I'd send you these while I still have the opportunity."
Suddenly, Soel's mouth opened wide and several things came flying out to land smoothly on the table. Two plush toy bunnies, one white and one silver, and two baskets filled with bottles.
"Oooh, faerie wine!" Himawari squealed excitedly. "It's been too long."
"Yes. I thought you all could use it. The toys are for the twins, obviously."
"Really? I was thinking they were for Watanuki," Doumeki said with a completely straight face. Watanuki started to seethe, but he dared not lose it in front of the king.
"How are things at court?" he asked, suddenly becoming serious. The king's face fell instantly.
"Things have been boiling quite a bit since you all left. Kamui-kun is stirring up trouble again."
"What does he want now?" Doumeki asked.
"The same as always. Fighting for Seishiro's right to be named as my heir."
"I've never understood that. Kamui doesn't even like Seishiro," Watanuki said angrily.
"You know why," Reed said, fixing him with a piercing stare.
"It's because of Subaru-kun," Himawari said meekly. "Kamui-kun may hate Seishiro-san, but he'll do anything for his brother."
"But…Majesty, what do you plan on doing about Seishiro? No one else can legitimately challenge his claim to your throne," Watanuki said worriedly.
"You know that isn't true. Fuuma-kun could challenge him for the blood right. He is my nephew, after all."
"But Fuuma-kun would never challenge anyone for the throne!" Himawari insisted. "He doesn't want power. He's loyal to you, Majesty."
"If it came down to it, Fuuma might challenge Seishiro to single combat just to prevent him from challenging you for the crown," Doumeki said matter-of-factly.
"Fuuma-kun wouldn't kill his own cousin!" Himawari said shrilly. At the sound of the panic in her voice, Yuui immediately started to cry. The young sprite quickly stifled a gasp and swept the girl up in her arms, dandling her up and down to comfort her.
"I'm sorry, Yuui-chan. Please, don't cry." Doumeki gave Himawari a slightly sympathetic look as he passed her the silver rabbit to give to Yuui. The little girl left off crying the moment she was cuddled up with the soft toy.
"He may not have a choice."
"Either way, let us hope that we won't have to cross that bridge for some time yet. I've lived for many millennia already and I don't expect to die anytime soon," Reed said, giving the little family a sad smile.
"Enjoy the wine," he said before vanishing.
"You know," Himawari began absently as she continued to comfort her foster daughter. "I'm almost happy to be away from all that. I like living here with the two of you and Soel and Larg and the twins."
"Me, too, Himawari-chan," Watanuki said as he continued to serve the cake. The same sad smile that King Reed had given them was on his face. Doumeki was the only one to see it.
Yuui was babbling contentedly away in Himawari's arms when she happened to look up and see the distracted, almost sad look in her eyes. Something was wrong with Himi! She hadn't the faintest idea what, but she did know that it wasn't okay. Yuui didn't like it when Himawari wasn't smiling. Maybe…the nice, soft toy would work? It had certainly cheered her up.
The warm, motherly smile returned to Himawari's face when she saw Yuui holding up her new toy with an almost pleading look in her eyes.
"Himi-wa?"
"Oh, Yuui-chan is wonderful! Someday soon she'll be able to say my whole name," Himawari said, snuggling fondly with the little girl and her bunny as she seated herself beside Watanuki. Fai saw this, crawled across the table toward Doumeki, and held out his arms, asking to be picked up. The barest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he picked the boy up and set him in his lap. He grabbed the white rabbit and began to dangle it above Fai's head. When he couldn't reach it, he started to pound his small fists against Doumeki's legs.
"Doum-ki! Doum-ki!" he cried incessantly. The tall faerie finally relented and handed Fai his present. When Watanuki finally got around to passing him a slice of cake, he started feeding tiny bites of it to Fai.
"Not too much, you idiot! You'll rot his teeth!"
Doumeki raised an eyebrow at the nature sprite. "Teeth? What teeth? He has four."
"Maybe so!" Watanuki fumed. "But the rest will start coming in before too long!"
Doumeki just rolled his eyes. He knew that Watanuki didn't really hate him, but for some reason yelling at Doumeki seemed to make him feel better…so he let him. He could see that Watanuki needed to feel better right now. He didn't know why, but the king's visit had saddened him. He would have to ask the shorter faerie about it sometime.
I like it here, too, Kunogi…Watanuki. I like that Fai and Yuui aren't afraid of me. I like that I can be something more to them than just the Darkness.
Doumeki felt warm…warm as he had not felt ever since becoming the Darkness all those years ago…Faerie's chief assassin. Fai and Yuui, Watanuki and Kunogi, even Soel and Larg…none of them saw him as the bringer of death. He felt that…with them…he was truly alive.
What will I do…when it all comes to an end?
XxX
Kurogane winced as he listened to his mother's screams echo from her chamber. His caretaker, Kusanagi Shiyu, was impressed by even that slight display of emotion. Ever since the king's death, the prince had been a solemn child. The boy was already throwing himself wholeheartedly into the rigors of learning swordsmanship and he wasn't quite five years old yet. Kusanagi had already graduated him from his toy wooden sword to a short training sword. The sword master had to admit that he had never had such an apt or intense pupil. The boy would move on to true blades before too long.
Kusanagi glanced down at the young prince when he felt him tugging on his sleeve. His normally intense red eyes were filled with unshed tears of worry.
"Is…is 'Kaa-san going to die?" he asked, barely managing to keep his lower lip from trembling. Kusanagi pulled his charge into a tight hug as another tortured scream tore down the corridor.
"Of course not, Kurogane-sama. The queen is strong. It's just difficult to bring a new life into the world. It was just like this the night you came to us."
Though, if memory serves, it was a bit more difficult with you. You wouldn't leave the womb without a fight, prince.
Mere weeks after King Ashura's death, Amaterasu had started to sicken and the court physicians had pronounced that the queen's stomach would soon swell with her husband's last child. The pregnancy had been hard on the grieving queen, but she was determined to see her baby into the world.
One last cry of pain echoed from the queen's chamber…and was soon followed by the shrill cries of a newborn. Several breathless minutes passed before two scribes came barreling through the door.
"Send word throughout the land!" one shouted.
"A princess is born!" cried the other.
Kusanagi stared after the frantic men a moment before taking Kurogane's hand and sidling over to the open door. He took a step inside and when no one shooed him away, he decided that it was safe to enter and led the prince toward his mother's massive bed. The woman looked thoroughly drained…but there was a bright smile on her pale face. Kusanagi was fairly certain that he hadn't seen such a smile since before the king's death.
Kurogane crawled up on the bed beside his mother. Kusanagi made a move to pull him back but Amaterasu waved him off. She reached out weakly to give her son a hug.
"'Kaa-san?"
"I'm fine, Kurogane-chan. Your baby sister's fine, too," she said, her smile growing even warmer as one of the physicians approached them, carrying a tiny pink bundle. The woman placed the bundle in the queen's arms, bowed, and backed away. The baby was yowling her little lungs out. Kurogane found this noise extremely annoying and he was afraid that it would prevent his poor, tired mother from getting some well-deserved rest. So he did the only thing he could think of. He placed a finger against her lips
"Shh!"
The baby immediately left off crying and stared curiously at the face above her. She placed her tiny hands on Kurogane's and began to suck on his finger. The boy's first impulse was to be disgusted, but then he saw the peaceful expression on his sister's face.
The first and most vital instinct of an infant, apart from breathing, is to suckle. Even though her brother's finger wasn't providing the baby girl with nourishment as her instincts told her the action would, it was still comforting to her. Out of the womb barely twenty minutes, the outside world can be scary to a newborn, and this one was willing to take any form of comfort she could get. So she clung to Kurogane's hand and sucked on that digit for all she was worth. For some reason, the four-year-old was struck by the aura of perfect peace that surrounded the little girl.
"Would you like to hold her?" Amaterasu asked, seeing the look of awe on her son's face. Kurogane just nodded and sat down cross-legged beside his mother. Then she carefully passed the newborn to the awestruck boy. His finger never left her mouth. The moment the young prince felt his baby sister's weight in his arms, he knew that she was special. She was a person who knew nothing of the world or the pain and evil in it. Kurogane wanted it to stay that way. He knew that he wanted to be someone who could protect her. Heaven help the poor fool who tried to harm…
"Um…'Kaa-san?" he started, glancing up at her, feeling a bit sheepish.
"Hmm?"
"What's her name?"
"Tomoyo."
XxX
Clow Reed roughly massaged his temples, attempting to stave off a growing headache. Kamui and Fuuma were at it again and they just would not let up. Kamui hadn't even requested a formal audience this time. The king and Lord Subaru Shiro had merely been passing in a corridor and Fuuma, his advisor in Watanuki's absence, and Kamui, captain of his little brother's guards, had started going for each other's throats.
"Tell me, Kamui-kun, why is it that you always manage to conveniently forget that Seishiro forfeited his claim to the throne of Faerie when he was exiled with his mother?" Fuuma reasoned level-headedly.
"Don't be so free with me, Fuuma! I may have chosen the position of guard but I still have noble blood in me!" Kamui said angrily. "Besides, Seishiro is his majesty's own son! How could another heir even be considered?"
"Would it bother you to stop talking about me like I'm not here?" the king asked. As expected, neither combatant paid him any attention. Reed rolled his eyes.
"Seishiro is out of the question. He may be our prince, but he's also Yuuko's son. Giving him the throne would be like handing all of Faerie to Yuuko on a silver platter."
"What would you have us do instead? Name you heir apparent? Do you know what I see, Fuuma? I see you making a power play. You certainly aren't leaving us much choice!"
But there is another choice, both the king and his nephew/advisor thought as one. But instead of foolishly revealing this, the next words to come out of Fuuma's mouth were, "I would never do such a thing. My place is beside the throne, not on it!"
"A likely sentiment."
"Why do you speak of this as if you expect the king to drop dead any moment? For all we know, we won't need to be having this conversation for another millennium."
"Personally, I would rather not have our future in doubt."
"In doubt? I should think our future would be even more in doubt with Seishiro on the throne than if we had no ruler at all. You don't even trust Seishiro yourself, do you?"
"I don't deny it," Kamui said calmly. "But Subaru trusts him…and I trust Subaru."
"And of course we all know why Subaru-kun trusts him."
"Stop right there!"
"Come off it. Everyone knows who your brother is fucking when he leaves court. That could be construed as treason, you know?"
Faster than the eye could track, Kamui was on Fuuma. He seized him by the throat and slammed him into the wall of the corridor. Reed's four guards instantly moved to surround them.
"What my brother does outside of Faerie is no one's business but his own!" the captain hissed in his face. Fuuma, however, remained calm throughout.
"Careful, Kamui-kun. You go too far."
"No. You go too far!"
"Kamui, stop this," Subaru interfered, his face still a bright shade of red from Fuuma's earlier comment.
"He insulted you," Kamui said angrily, never once breaking eye contact with his intended victim.
"Kamui-kun, release him," Clow ordered. The younger faerie glanced sideways at his king. For a moment, it seemed that he meant to defy him. But then he relinquished his grip on Fuuma's neck and backed away.
"As you wish, my king."
"And Fuuma-kun, I am forced to agree with Kamui-kun. That comment was out of line."
"Of course, Uncle. My apologies, Subaru-dono."
"Subaru-kun, Kamui-kun, I will see you both tonight," Reed said with a nod of his head, letting all involved know that the conversation was over. Subaru and his guards swept down the corridor in the direction that Clow and company had just come from.
"And if the five of you don't mind, I will retire now," Clow said as he moved away toward his chambers. Fuuma and the four guards simply bowed and went their own way.
Once the king was safe inside his own quarters, he leaned against the door, placed a hand against his throbbing forehead, and addressed the real reason for his headache.
"What do you want from me, Yuuko?"
Ah. Finally alone, I see. Where are they? Where did you put them?
"I assure you, I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," the ancient faerie said to the voice in his head.
Don't play games with me, Clow. I'm not a patient faerie. My spies have turned Valeria upside down. You're hiding those children from me. What better place to spirit the twins away to than Faerie; the one place where I cannot touch them?
"Regardless of what you may think, dear Yuuko, I am not a fool. You and I both know that you have ways of sliding your slender, murdering hands into Faerie. What makes you think that I know where those babies are?"
Who else in Faerie would care for the children of that half-human bitch!? Yuuko's voice snarled. You hid them! I know it!
"Even if I did somehow manage to hide them from your sight, what makes you so arrogant as to think you could pull their location from me?"
My minions have failed me. I have failed. But there is one who will not fail. If you do not hand them over freely…I will send Seishiro after them. The Sakurazukamori will stalk the night once more. If he should find them…well…he could do much worse to your precious servants than my other minions ever could. Would you risk the safety of your loyal servants for the sake of a pair of mortal bratlings?
Reed slid weakly to the floor. He was happy that Yuuko couldn't see him like this. Her power was affecting him more than it should have. Liquid pain was coursing through his very veins, but he continued to speak in a clear, strong voice.
"Yuuko…this is between you and I. I beg you…leave them out of this. Sakura-chan, Fai-chan, Yuui-chan…all of them! Leave them be!"
What will you do? Send the Darkness after me? I've heard the gossip. The Darkness is no longer at your beck and call. You've sent him off into hiding with those despicable humans. Seishiro will kill him, too…and Watanuki…and Kunogi…and they will suffer hell at his hands. Our son will make them beg for death before the end. Can you picture it, Clow? Their wasted corpses lying in growing pools of their own blood…the little children weeping over their slain guardians…then screaming in terror as the murderer slowly walks toward them? Can you imagine the way their helpless bodies will break as he forces them through the same hell before my curse finally wraps itself around their throats and destroys them? Can you hear them screaming?
He could. He could hear those defenseless babes crying in pain and terror. He could hear Sakura keening over the bodies of her murdered children. Seishiro could make everything end exactly as Yuuko had dictated. He had no doubt that he had it in him…his own child.
But it doesn't have to end like that, darling Clow, Yuuko continued mockingly. Not if you give them to me now. Hand over the children and I will spare your three servants. Yuui and Fai don't have to suffer before the end. The siblings can slip peacefully into an eternal slumber without any light or pain. I will bury them together. They can spend an eternity sleeping within the depths of my realm, watching time pass through eyes made of dust.
"Never," the king hissed. He would not consign Sakura's children to such a dreadful fate. "Why do you hate them so much?"
You know why, Clow, she whispered as her power drifted apart like the dust she promised to make of Fai and Yuui. Her fading magic left the faintest, most heated of kisses on his forehead.
It's because you betrayed me.
XxX
"Yuui-chan! Fai-chan!" Himawari called worriedly as she traced diligent search paths through the forest. The little family had gone out beyond the wards on a berry-picking expedition because Himawari had found a "wonderful new patch of strawberries". Unfortunately, somewhere during all of the fun, the twins had managed to slip away from the three faeries.
"Fai!" Soel shouted.
"Yuui!" Larg called.
"Where could they be?" Himawari wondered aloud, clearly on the verge of tears.
"Don't worry, Himawari-chan," Watanuki attempted to console her. "They were only out of our sight for a minute. They couldn't have gotten far."
Doumeki had not spoken once since the children's disappearance. He didn't say anything to his companions, but he feared for the safety of the three-year-olds…and not from any danger the forest could show them. He had been moving in ever widening circles around their home when he left to hunt and, as he had expected, he had begun to see signs of Yuuko's minions in the forest.
"There," the assassin said suddenly, pointing calmly into the trees ahead. The twins were playing in a clearing not ten feet away. The anxious family immediately moved toward its lost members, but no sooner had they moved two feet than Himawari threw her arms wide.
"Don't move," she ordered softly. She could see what none of them had been able to see from a distance. Fai and Yuui were playing with a black bear cub. And, as everyone knows, where there is a bear cub, the mother bear is not far behind.
"But…they might be-" Watanuki started to speak, but his words were interrupted by a snarling, rampaging mass of muscle, black fur, and rage. The mother bear came charging into the clearing, straight towards the twins and their new playmate. Watanuki started to move forward, but Himawari held him back.
"Shoot it!" he shouted frantically at the ever-stoic Doumeki.
"She's just protecting her baby," Himawari said calmly.
"What do you think I'm doing?!"
"Wait," Himawari ordered with more calm than she actually felt. "Just wait."
The mother bear stopped just short of the three young ones. Instead of immediately tearing the intruders limb from limb, she quickly nuzzled her own cub and turned to inspect the new ones. She sniffed at their blonde hair. Fai immediately began to giggle. He didn't see the mouthful of sharp teeth above him. He knew only that a soft bear maw was tickling him and he liked it. He reached up and grabbed handfuls of the bear's luscious black fur. The mother bear seemed more surprised than angry. She gave the children gentle nuzzles and scooted their tiny bodies closer to her own little one. It was in this moment that Himawari moved into the clearing, making no more sound than a lone mother wolf on the prowl. Moving very slowly, she came to kneel before the great bear.
Please, Great Mother, the young sprite said with her eyes. These children are mine. Allow me to take them from your embrace and back into my own arms.
The black bear growled low in her throat…and backed away into the forest, taking her cub with her. Yuui was still waving goodbye to the baby bear as Himawari swept the wayward twins into her arms.
"How did you do it?!" Watanuki shouted as the others ran toward them.
"It wasn't me, really. She never would have harmed them. Do you remember my gift? The voice of the forest? Your gift called for the earth to recognize Yuui and Fai as its own. Mine calls for all things wild to recognize them as their own. Between our gifts, the forest will never harm them."
"Himawari-chan, that's-"
"Shh!" Doumeki suddenly hushed the two, raising a finger to his lips.
"Wha-" Watanuki started, but Doumeki simply held his hand up, cutting him off. Before another confused word could be exchanged, the Darkness seized his companions by the shoulders and steered them out of the clearing. The Mokona siblings followed close behind as he forced them all into hiding beneath the thick foliage. Himawari remained silent, but Watanuki continued to bluster. Doumeki seized his gaze with his own.
Someone is coming.
Watanuki immediately clammed up and hunkered down with the rest of the family. Several tense moments passed before a figure cloaked in black stepped into the clearing. Yuui immediately started squirming. Himawari tried to hold her down, but she underestimated the girl's strength and she escaped her grip. All three felt their hearts leap into their throats as Yuui ran toward the cloaked figure. It knelt and held out its arms as the child came forward. Doumeki immediately leapt to his feet, trusting the others to keep Fai hidden. The moment the little princess was in the stranger's arms, Doumeki had an arrow notched in his bow and pointed directly into the recesses of the dark hood.
"Release the girl and no harm will come to you."
The stranger did not acknowledge him. A full-bodied, masculine laugh echoed from the hood as he jiggled the little girl.
"Well met, little princess," the man said, holding his free hand in front of the girl's face.
"Put her down now!" Doumeki ordered, keeping his slowly building rage in check.
The man holding Yuui prisoner snapped his fingers and a blue rose appeared in his hand. Yuui clapped excitedly as he handed her the delicate bloom.
"Do i' again! Do i' again!" she cheered. Her captor quickly obliged. He waved his hand and an orange toy cat appeared before the princess.
"This is the last time I am going to tell you. Let…her…go." The bowstring stretched audibly as the assassin drew the arrow further back, ready to shoot.
"Darkness, I'm surprised at you. You would slay your friend for a human child? Don't you know me?"
The arrow did not lower even a little bit. "I know who I think you should be. But I also know that the senses are easily deceived. If you don't want an arrow between your eyes, then show me your face."
"You won't shoot me…not while I hold the princess. Would you wager her life?"
"You know as well as I that I cannot miss." The archer said this, not out of pride, but as a simple statement of fact. If he had a target in mind, Doumeki truly could not miss a shot.
"An arrow won't kill me," the stranger warned.
"Mine will."
Yuui's captor laughed yet again. "Well…perhaps you're right." He handed the smiling child the stuffed cat and pulled back his hood. Doumeki tilted his head curiously to one side. Himawari's first instinct was to jump up and run to them, but Watanuki placed a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her to wait.
"How do I know that you're really Fuuma?"
The faerie lord tilted his head to one side in imitation of Doumeki and grinned at him.
"I am."
The Darkness stood motionless for about ten seconds before lowering his bow.
"Okay."
Watanuki suddenly leapt up from his hiding place.
"Okay? Okay?! That's all you're going to say to him?!"
"He's very persuasive," Doumeki answered matter-of-factly.
"PERSUASIVE? PERSUASIVE, MY ASS! MAYBE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN, BUT HE'S STILL GOT YUUI!"
"Shut up, idiot. I was just coming to that," he said before turning his attention back to Fuuma. "You do realize that I'm going to be forced to kill you if you don't put her down? So do it."
"Mm…no. I don't think I will," Fuuma said thoughtfully.
"Why not?"
"I should think that was obvious. I've come to take her away. Little Yuui will be going back to Faerie with me."
"That's where you're wrong, Fuuma," Doumeki began calmly. "Yuui is staying right here with us…with her family."
"I thought your task was to protect the twins. Well, this is the best way to do it. The twins will be safer if they are split up."
"We'll be the judge of that," Watanuki hissed dangerously.
"The decision is no longer yours."
"Does King Reed know about this?" the nature sprite asked, suddenly fearful that the noble had the king's approval to take Yuui away from them. Why would he do such a thing without telling them? Did he not trust them?
"No," Fuuma said, his face suddenly growing pensive. "My uncle is not conscious to know anything right now."
Himawari gasped as she, too, crawled out of the foliage, hugging Fai tightly against her chest.
"Fuuma-kun…what happened?"
"We're not certain. Shougo found him passed out in his chamber two nights ago. We've managed to keep it secret from the rest of the court, but we have reason to believe that Yuuko was involved. I think she may have mentally assaulted him in an attempt to pull the twins' location from his mind."
"Will he be all right?" Himawari asked worriedly.
"He should be fine. But I'm still worried. Yuuko's magic shouldn't be able to affect him so much. The king is not as strong as he once was. If that insane bitch should…manage to break him…I want at least one child under the protection of Faerie."
"But their magic is stronger when they're together," Watanuki tried to reason.
"Precisely the problem," Fuuma shot back. ""Such powerful magic makes them that much easier to detect."
"Fuuma-kun, please…don't take Yuui-chan away from us," Himawari begged quietly. The hard determination Fuuma used with Doumeki and Watanuki melted away when he turned to face Himawari. It was replaced with sympathy and concern. Fuuma had been present at Himawari's birth more than a thousand years ago. He had watched her grow. Of the few in Faerie he could truly consider his friends, Himawari was first among them. He couldn't stand to see her unhappy…but he was honor-bound to guard Faerie's best interests.
"Himawari-chan, don't try to make me the bad guy here. Don't you want what's best for the children?"
"This is what's best for them," Himawari said as she rested her head against Fai's blonde hair. "Growing up together in a normal family. How would Yuui-chan be raised at court?"
"Like the princess she is," Fuuma promised. "We would honor her and protect her."
The sadness that radiated off of Himawari let her friend know that he had said very much the wrong thing. She nuzzled Fai as a mother wolf would her cub, imbedding the image of the protective mother in Fuuma's mind.
"There is no worse fate for a child," Himawari began, sounding far more serious than any of the others had ever heard her. "She'll be all alone. She won't ever know her brother. She'll be trapped in a glass cage, never to be loved again. Yuui-chan is like my own daughter. Best friends we may be, Fuuma-dono, but do not ask me to stand aside and let you do that to her."
The challenge was clear. Himawari set Fai down and Soel and Larg came to cuddle with the distraught little boy. The dark-haired sprite took a decidedly offensive stance. There was something vaguely predatory in her usually gentle gaze, like some caged wild thing trying to break free of its bonds. Fuuma noted the upgrade in her address with a tech of alarm. He had seen Himawari loose control only once before…when her grandmother, General Hikaru, had been killed in the last great war to unite the warring courts of Faerie into a single nation. She had been very young then, nigh twenty years old. Himawari had a kind heart, but her animal nature, the very magic that she was possessed of, tempered all of the love that was in her with just as much savagery. It was something the young faerie had to work very hard to control. When she'd received news of Hikaru's death, well…the slayer had not come to a particularly pleasant end. Fuuma did not want to think about his odds against such primal rage. He was a spirit of air and light. He had no illusions about who would win in an all out fight between the two of them.
Doumeki, as always, remained completely impassive when he began to feel Himawari's magic fill the air.
"Himawari-chan?" Watanuki whispered uncertainly.
Fuuma held her cat-like gaze. "Don't do this, Himawari-chan," he whispered under his breath.
It would most certainly have come to blows if the twins hadn't chosen that moment to unwittingly work their own brand of magic.
Yuui had liked the dark-haired man at first. He had a nice smile and he'd given her a new toy. But she was starting to be afraid of the tension she was feeling between him and the others. The little girl started to fuss. She wanted the man to put her down. She wanted her brother!
Fai saw his sister start to panic. Instead of giving into his own fear, he jumped into action. He moved toward the man on shaky legs. The Mokona tried to stop him but he kept moving. He sat himself at the man's feet and wrapped his arms around one of his legs.
"Please," the little boy began tearfully, using the new word Watanuki had taught him. "Pu' Yuui down. Don' take my sistew away!"
Fuuma glanced down at the little prince clinging to his leg and suddenly saw himself. His gaze shifted back to Yuui…and he found himself looking at his own little sister, Kotori. The two thousand-year-old faerie felt an immediate kinship with Fai. He, too, would give anything to see his baby sister smile. In that moment of weakness, Fuuma backed down. He placed Yuui on the ground next to Fai and took a step back from them. The twins hugged each other tightly, crushing the toy cat between them.
The glint disappeared from Himawari's eyes and she moved toward the children. She swept them up in her arms and hugged them close. She remained kneeling, burying her face in their fair hair to keep the others from seeing her tears. They were not just tears of relief. They were tears of confusion and fear. In her thousand years of life, Himawari had never known the pains of a mother. These little ones were not of her body. She was stealing their love away from their true mother. She had no right to claim herself as their mother. And yet…she was the only mother they knew. And they…the only children she had ever known. They were not hers, and yet…the thought of losing them had almost sent her over the edge. She feared that edge and the terrible things it could make her do, but…if it could help her protect Fai and Yuui…then she would use it. That willingness to slay, even for them…scared her.
Suddenly, the distraught faerie felt arms around her shoulders.
"Himawari-chan," Watanuki began, holding her and the twins close. "It's alright."
"I think you've done enough damage for one day, Fuuma," Doumeki said, the hint of a glare lighting up his amber eyes.
Fuuma glanced ashamedly away from his friends. He had hurt them…he knew, but…they had to understand.
"I'm sorry, Himawari-chan. You have to understand. I was only doing what was best for our people."
"Our people?" Himawari said bitterly, not looking at him. "What does the safety of our babies have to do with our people?
Fuuma stared curiously at her, then back at Watanuki.
"You mean you haven't-" He was cut off by the warning look in Watanuki's eyes. Doumeki noticed the look but remained silent as always. Himawari had eyes only for the children. Fuuma, meanwhile, locked eyes with Doumeki.
"Darkness, I will leave the prince and princess in your care for now, but you had better keep them safe," he warned before disappearing into the forest. Doumeki glanced down at Watanuki and was about to ask him what he and Fuuma had been talking about when the former advisor gave him a look that plainly said, not now.
"Will you be okay, Himawari-chan?"
"Can…can we go home now?" she asked softly.
"Sure," Watanuki answered, helping her to her feet. "I can take Fai-chan."
But when he reached for the boy, Fai shied away from him. He and Yuui clung desperately to their surrogate mother. They didn't understand everything that had just occurred, but they did know that something very bad had almost happened. They wanted the comfort of Himawari's embrace, the knowledge that they were together, and that nothing could separate them so long as they held onto each other. As the small family moved back toward their home, the twins fell asleep like that, holding hands and clinging to Himawari.
"Watanuki?" Larg whispered to the faerie from his place on his shoulder. "Will Himawari be alright?"
"I hope so."
XxX
Red eyes stared steadily into his. Something about them made him feel like their owner would devour him whole.
"Dear child," a serpent like voice whispered to him. He was being held in a woman's lap. She held him close with her cold hands. She seized his face and pressed her mouth right up against his ear.
"Did you know that everything you are…is a lie?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, his lower lip trembling. This lady was scary. He'd never met anything scarier, but he was trying his hardest not to cry. Only babies cried. He wasn't a baby!
"Watanuki, Himawari, Doumeki? Those people you call family? They stole you and your sister from your real parents."
"You're lying!" the little boy yelled, beating his fists against the woman in order to make her let him go. But she just squeezed him tighter.
"You're going to die, you and your sister. You won't live to see your eighteenth birthday."
"NO!" he shrieked, struggling even harder to escape. But he struggled in vain. The woman wrapped her slender hands around his throat…and squeezed. He fought, but he couldn't get away. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe!
The hands left his throat, but he still couldn't move. He suddenly found himself lying spread eagle on cold, hard ground.
"Let me go," he pleaded, hot tears streaming down his face. He couldn't help it. He was terrified. "I wanna go home!"
"You can never go home again. You belong to me. You belong to the darkness."
"DOUMEKI!" he screamed into the darkness, fighting tooth and nail against the mysterious force that held him down. "SAVE ME!"
"No one can save you. No one wants you. You're going to die!"
The darkness around him erupted in flames and a hideous black dragon burst through the fire. It had the same glowing red eyes as the woman.
"I DON'T WANNA DIE!" the stricken child sobbed. The dragon was circling overhead,
"Good night, sweet prince," the creature hissed. Then its mouth opened wide and a jet of flame came streaking toward him.
Fai awoke screaming. His small body was covered with sweat and his face was streaked with salty tears. Moonlight was spilling across the bed he shared with Yuui, Soel, and Larg. The next moment, his sister and the Mokonas were awakened by his cries.
"Fai! What's'matter?!" Yuui asked, starting to panic herself. Fai was still crying hysterically when Himawari, Doumeki, and Watanuki burst into the room.
"What happened?!" Watanuki demanded, on the verge of hysterics himself.
"Mokona doesn't know," Soel started, clearly frightened. "Fai just woke up crying."
Himawari rushed forward and sat down on the bed in front of Fai.
"Fai-chan? Sweetie? What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did you have a bad dream?"
Fai didn't answer her. He just threw himself into her arms and sobbed as if his little heart was breaking. Himawari didn't press him. She simply held the five-year-old close, whispering comfortingly to him and gently rubbing his back.
"It's alright, baby. You're safe now. Nothing's going to hurt you," she continued to soothe. But his next words caused her to stiffen.
"I s-saw…I saw…a l-lady. A r-really m-mean lady with r-red eyes," the boy whimpered. Himawari did not let him see her reaction. She held him tighter and tried to keep him talking.
"Did…the lady say anything to you?"
Fai hiccupped twice before answering. "She s-said…that…Y-Yuui and me…th-that we're…g-gonna…gonna…"
"Gonna what, pumpkin?"
"DIE!" he screamed as a fresh wave of tears came pouring down his face. He buried his face in Himawari's chest. "I don't wanna die! I don't want Yuui to die!"
Himawari held the boy closer, running tender fingers through his hair. "Hush, my little Fai-bear. You're both safe. No one's going to die."
Fai clung to her like a lifeline and cried harder. Yuui cuddled with Soel and Larg, trembling as her brother's muffled sobs filled her ears.
As Himawari tried to keep the atmosphere calm, Doumeki pulled Watanuki out into the hallway.
"She's coming after them," he noted calmly.
"I noticed," Watanuki responded in exasperation.
"If she can get enough of a lock to invade their dreams, she knows they're in the forest. She can't come herself. You know who she'll send."
"Seishiro, I imagine!" Watanuki hissed right back. "But, it'll…it'll be fine. Maybe you are a brutish, conniving oaf, but Seishiro's no match for you."
"You think so?" Doumeki asked, the hint of an edge in his voice.
I'm not so sure.
A heavy silence stretched between them as they listened to Himawari soothe the distraught twins. It was an uncomfortable silence filled with painful secrets and half-formed thoughts.
"You know," Doumeki started, finally ready to give voice to the thoughts and suspicions that had been boiling in his head for the past five years. "You never did explain."
He couldn't see Watanuki, but he didn't need to. Darkness was his element. Darkness was like his third eye. Words spoken in the darkness reached his ears. Actions hidden by the dark of night were laid bare before his senses. He could feel Watanuki stiffen in the air next to him.
"Explain what?"
"Kunogi said it two years ago, though I imagine she didn't realize the implications because she was so upset. Fai and Yuui…what does their safety have to do with Faerie?"
Watanuki smiled bitterly. Doumeki could feel the twist of his lips through the darkness between them.
"You've got a pretty good memory for an idiot," he said wryly, trying to dodge the issue.
"Don't play the fool with me right now," the assassin warned him. No matter how good you are at it. "I asked you a question. I expect an answer."
"Doumeki," the nature sprite sighed, finally coming clean. "I wish I could tell you. I'd love to tell both you and Himawari-chan everything. But…you aren't the only one in Faerie to whom the darkness offers up its secrets. Some things are best left unsaid. No one knows, except the king, Fuuma, and I. You will know someday…but not now."
"I'll wait," the archer said. Watanuki breathed a sigh of relief and was about to step back into the twins' bedroom when Doumeki seized his wrist.
"As long as you need me to, I'll wait…and when you're ready to talk, I'll be right here."
The taller faerie could feel the unsaid words hanging in the space between them. The darkness told him that Watanuki's words were there, but it could not tell him what those words were. He knew what his own words were. Watanuki knew what they were, too, though he had never spoken them…and he would not, not until Watanuki was truly ready to hear them. Nearly eighteen hundred years had passed since they'd first locked eyes and still, neither was ready to hear the words they could both feel suspended between them.
They stood like that for a few moments, but Watanuki finally extricated his wrist from Doumeki's strong grip and the two of them moved back into the twins' room as if nothing had happened. Himawari had managed to get Fai to stop crying. The twins were hugging each other tightly and Himawari was holding them both, rocking them gently. Larg sat perched atop her head and Soel was sitting on her shoulder.
"Fai-chan? Yuui-chan? Do you know what you should do whenever you feel scared or alone?" she asked them quietly.
"What?" Fai sniffled, still not quite over Yuuko's nightmare. Soel and Larg bounced off of Himawari as she leaned down close to the children.
"You sing a song," she whispered to them, as if imparting some great piece of wisdom.
"But…we don't know that many," Yuui said despairingly.
"Don't worry about that, Yuui-chan. I'll teach you all the songs I know," Himawari said with a small giggle. The twins gazed adoringly up at her.
"Himiwari? Will you sing us one right now?" Yuui asked shyly. Himawari answered by starting to sing.
Under the snow,
Beneath the frozen stream,
There is life.
You have to know
When nature sleeps she dreams.
There is life.
And the colder the winter,
The warmer the spring.
The deeper the sorrow,
The more our hearts sing.
Even when you can't see it,
Inside everything
There is life.
After the rain,
The sun will reappear.
There is life.
After the pain,
The joy will still be here.
There is life.
For it's out of the darkness
That we learn to see.
And out of the silence
That songs come to be.
And all that we dream of
Awaits patiently.
There is life.
There is life.
During her song, Doumeki and Watanuki had sat down on either side of Himawari and Soel and Larg had snuggled up with them. The small bed could barely contain the whole family.
"Feel better?" Himawari asked.
"Y-yeah," Fai said, wiping away a stray tear. "But…can…can we sleep with you tonight?"
Himawari laughed and smiled warmly down at the siblings.
"Yes, you can."
XxX
Blue…blue so rich and cool the world had no right to it. The boy felt that he could drown in that vast blue…in the eyes that contained it. Yes. He would willingly drown in the whirlpool of those shimmering eyes and he would never once scream for help.
"You have nice eyes."
"Thank you, Prince-sama."
"What's your name?" he asked the pale, mysterious boy.
"I can't tell you that," he said with a wink.
"Why not?" he asked, wanting to be irritated with the other boy, but somehow unable to be.
"Because we haven't met yet, silly."
"What are you talking about? We're meeting right now!"
"No, we're not," the blonde child said in a singsong voice. "We're four years from meeting, you and I, Kuro-chan."
This time he couldn't help but be a little angry. "What did you call me?!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Kuro-puppy is funny," the blue-eyed boy said before pouncing on him and giving him a big hug. For a moment, he could have sworn that the other boy had cat ears. "Fai-kitty wants Kuro-puppy to be its friend!"
Now he was just confused. "Okay! Sheesh! I'll be your friend if you get off me!"
"Yay! A new friend!" the boy cheered, finally releasing his hold on him.
"No more of those dumb nicknames though."
"NII-SAMA! HELP ME!"
Kurogane was torn violently from his sleep by the sounds of his baby sister screaming. Instantly, the haze of the dream was gone and the nine-year-old was tearing out of his room, down the corridor. He beat her guards and caregivers by a mile.
"TOMOYO!" the concerned prince shouted as he burst into his sister's chamber. Her futon was empty. For a moment, he felt sick to the stomach, thinking she'd been kidnapped. But then he noticed a trail of rumpled sheets leading to the far corner of the young princess' chamber. There he found his little sister, curled up in the fetal position, clutching her favorite purple blanket, and sobbing in terror.
"Tomoyo?" he said softly, not wanting to startle her. The five-year-old's head snapped up and the second she saw her big brother, she rushed into his arms.
"What happened?" he asked, holding her and letting her cry. Instinctively, his embrace tightened when he heard her guards pour into the room.
"Nii-sama," she whimpered as Kurogane carried her back to her futon. "I was so scared."
"What was it, Tomoyo? Another bad dream?" he asked, still holding her close as he sat down on her futon. Tomoyo just nodded weakly, clinging desperately to her brother.
"What did you see, my princess?" a voice suddenly sounded above the hushed murmurings of the guards. An elderly man dressed in red robes emerged from the sea of black-clad warriors. Kurogane glared angrily at the high priest.
"Leave her alone, Chang Ang. She doesn't need your stupid rambling right now! Can't you see she's scared?"
"But my prince, we must know the dream that the princess had. I have long suspected that her Highness might have…special powers. If I might be allowed to interpret-"
"That's why I want you to leave her alone!" Kurogane snapped. "I don't like you scaring her!"
"Kurogane-kun, stop it," his mother ordered as she entered her daughter's room.
"But we can't just-"
"I don't like it anymore than you do," she interrupted. "But if Tomoyo-chan has the gift of dream sight like Chang Ang-san suspects, then she must be properly trained to her gifts."
Kurogane bowed his head in defeat. Then he looked down at his sister. "Don't be scared, Tomoyo. I'm right here. Chang Ang wants to know about your bad dream, but don't worry. It can't hurt you. I'm here for you."
Tomoyo nodded her consent and the high priest took his cue to come forward. He glanced at Kurogane for approval but the young prince just grunted in response. The priest slowly placed a hand on Tomoyo's forehead. Both pairs of eyes closed as Chang Ang reached into the child's sub conscience. Tomoyo trembled like a leaf about to be plucked from its branch by the wind and sweat started to pour down Chang Ang's face.
Suddenly, Tomoyo gave a terrified shriek and Chang Ang fell back. Several of the guards moved forward to catch him as he fell. Tomoyo clung to her brother and began to cry again. The guards, meanwhile, lowered Chang Ang to the floor and he sat there, dumbfounded. Only three people were brave enough to approach the entranced priest: Amaterasu, Kusanagi, and Tomoyo's own nurse, Chitose.
"What did you see?" Amaterasu asked anxiously.
"Tsukuyomi," the stricken priest whispered. "The miko with the power of the moon is born to us once again." Slowly, reverently, Chang Ang moved to his knees, kneeling before the princess. "My Lady," he whispered. Spiritually, this little girl was far above him.
Tomoyo did not acknowledge him. She simply held tight to Kurogane.
"Are you certain?" Chitose asked.
"On this, the fifth anniversary of King Ashura's death, Tomoyo-hime dreams of the witch-queen, Yuuko. I saw a forest burned to ashes…a great kingdom in ruins. The only living things were twin children."
A hush fell over the assembled crowd. Everyone knew of the vanished twins of Valeria. The only ones present who did not know of Kurogane's engagement to the elder twin were Tomoyo and Kurogane himself. And again, the only ones present who knew that the twins still lived were Amaterasu and Chang Ang. As the priest continued his narration of the vision, Amaterasu quietly signaled the guards to leave. The only ones remaining were herself, Chang Ang, the two royal siblings, Kusanagi, and Chitose.
"They were all alone…surrounded by death and destruction...and then she came. The creature with the eyes of blood. She came as a dragon to devour the helpless children!"
"And?" Kusanagi hissed.
"No more. I sincerely doubt the child could have handled much more of the vision. It is the future she's seen. Or at least, a possible future. The princess was born to be a miko. She can never escape the sight."
Kurogane glared helplessly at the high priest as he spoke. What was wrong with all of them? Didn't they understand that these dreams frightened Tomoyo? Now they were going to make her deal with them all the time? He had promised that he would protect his little sister, but…this was something that he could not protect her from.
"We will discuss this further in the morning. For now, I think it best that we all get back to sleep," Amaterasu interrupted Chang Ang's monologue, noting her seething son and her whimpering daughter.
"As my queen wishes," Chang Ang said before bowing and leaving. Kusanagi and Chitose followed suit. Tomoyo glanced up at her brother, her lower lip trembling.
"Can…can you stay in here tonight?"
Kurogane glanced at their mother to make sure it was okay. She smiled, nodding her consent before turning to leave herself. Her two children had a bond that she had never shared with anyone, being an only child. Kurogane had always been able to comfort Tomoyo after her nightmares as she never could. Sometimes she envied them their closeness. She had not been so close to anyone since Ashura's death. But at the same time, she was glad of it. On their own, her babies were both lonely children. Kurogane was serious and stoic. He threw himself into his sword and martial arts training heart and soul, mind and body. Sometimes she was afraid that he had taken his father's dying words a little too much to heart. There were only two, maybe three people who could make him smile. Tomoyo, Kusanagi, and his only other friend, a noble's daughter about three years younger than him named Souma. Tomoyo was a brilliant child. Even at her young age, her intelligence was already apparent. She was far more perceptive than any child of five had a right to be. But that scared her age mates. It even scared many of the adults in the palace. She had so much light, so much love to give…but people were just too afraid to get close to her. However, no matter how alone they were apart, they at least had each other.
Kurogane had quite a time extricating himself from Tomoyo's grip, but he finally managed to calm her enough so that he could go and gather the scattered bedding.
"I tried to warn 'em," she mumbled as he tucked the blankets back around her.
"What do you mean?" Kurogane asked, finally crawling under the blankets with his little sister and hugging her tight.
"Those other kids...the ones I saw in my dream. I tried to warn 'em 'bout the dragon but…but I couldn' – talk. I couldn' even scream," she whimpered against his chest, snuggling deeper into his protective embrace. "It was gonna-"
"Shh," he hushed her. "It was only a dream. No one got hurt."
"But…Chang Ang-sama said that…that it migh' happen."
"Don't worry about that now. You should worry about getting to sleep. Sleeping is actually kinda fun. I was doing it a few minutes ago. I was having a good dream." Well…scratch that. It had started off as a nice dream. Then it just got weird.
Tomoyo suddenly glanced up at him, all traces of her tears gone. He could just barely make out the glint of her violet eyes in the darkness.
"You saw 'em, too, didn' you?"
"Well…not exactly. I saw someone. I saw a boy: a crazy kid with blonde hair and blue eyes. And I think he thought he was a cat."
Unlike Kusanagi, or Souma, even, Tomoyo seemed to make perfect sense of his half-remembered dream and didn't look at him funny like they would have. Instead, she smiled. "He's the one. He was one a' the kids in my dream. 'Cept in my dream, there was a girl with him, too. I think they mighta been brother and sister…jus' like us."
"You think?"
"Maybe…if it is the future…do you think we migh' meet 'em someday, Nii-sama?" Tomoyo asked sleepily as her eyes drifted shut.
"Who knows?" he yawned, barely clinging to consciousness. Kurogane didn't relish the thought of crossing paths with a crazy cat boy who couldn't say his name properly. But he actually wouldn't have minded seeing those eyes again.
They made him feel…happy.
XxX
"Ready or not, here I come!" Himawari shouted as she uncovered her eyes. She, the twins, and the Mokona were out on a picnic for the day and Soel had decided that they should all play hide and seek. By merit of being the eldest of them, Himawari was "it" first. She could already see a small foot sticking out from underneath a nearby bush. She could also make out a few wisps of blonde hair against the bark of a tree as the wind caught them.
"I don't see anyone," she said despairingly. "Where could my little Fai-chan and Yuui-chan be?" She flailed around the clearing, searching everywhere but where she actually knew them to be, letting the twins think themselves so clever, as one did when playing games with children. As Himawari danced about the glen, she found herself thinking about how much Watanuki would enjoy this game. She could just picture him beside her, pretending not to know where the children were. She could see Doumeki standing a little ways off, watching over the proceedings with a not-quite-smile on his face. Unfortunately, they couldn't all be here today. There was work that needed doing. Watanuki was in Shirasagi for the day, gathering some much needed supplies, and Doumeki was off on a hunting trip. He never spoke of it but both she and Watanuki knew that he also scouted the woods for Yuuko's spies whenever he went out hunting. Himawari liked to think that they could trust him enough to tell them if he ever found anything but…he was the Darkness. He knew how to keep his silence if he saw fit.
Finally deciding that enough time had passed, Himawari snatched at the foot she saw and pulled, producing a giggling Fai.
"Found you," she teased, giving his nose a gentle nuzzle with her own. "Will you help me find the others?"
Fai shook his head as he got to his feet. "No. You have to find them. I'm not gonna squeal."
Himawari laughingly shook her head as she, too, rose to her feet. She took another look around the clearing and decided to let Yuui be for a little while longer. This was partially due to the fact that she had spotted the sudden glimmer of Larg's blue forehead jewel. She reached into the tightly packed branches of a young evergreen tree and easily plucked out the black Mokona.
"That tickles!" Larg protested, kicking its feet and wriggling its small body. After giving it another quick tickle on its small tummy, she released the black fuzz ball and continued her search. Soel was nowhere to be found, so she finally decided to go after Yuui. Himawari crept around the tree where she'd seen her before and found the little girl trying to peek around the other side of the tree, trying to see if the enemy was still around. Just as Yuui was starting to breathe a sigh of relief, Himawari pounced. Yuui gave a delighted shriek of surprise as Himawari snatched her up and spun her around. Fai ran toward them and Yuui squealed, "Put me down! Put me down!" Himawari did so and the three began to dance in a circle. Larg bounded into the middle of the circle and bounced up and down, singing, "Soel won! Soel won!" Before long, the four collapsed on the forest floor in a fit of giggles.
"You two are getting so big," Himawari said as she pulled the six-year-olds close to her. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to grow up so fast?"
Himawari's lamentation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Soel. The little white thing came bounding up to them, clearly upset.
"What's wrong, Soel?" the young faerie asked as she sat up.
"Himawari!" the tiny creature moaned, clearly out of breath. "Someone's in the forest!"
Himawari instantly felt her heart turn to ice in her chest. "Are you sure?"
"Uhuh. Mokona saw him. He's not far away. He heard you all laughing. He's coming here!"
"Seishiro," Himawari whispered, her eyes going wide in terror. "It has to be." She quickly gathered the twins to her and moved back to the tree where Yuui had been hiding. She lay down against the tree and pulled Fai and Yuui right up against her breast. Soel and Larg curled up on either side of her head, trembling in fright. She had no choice. She had to use glamour; a cloaking magic that would cause her and those near her to take on the appearance of something else. In this case, the tree trunk that they were laying against. As she drew the shield in around them, she also tried to weave the magic web as tightly as she possibly could, so that the spell would not leave a signature for Seishiro to trace.
"Himawari?" Yuui asked, fear starting to build in her own voice as she felt her guardian's fear grow. "Would it help if we sang a song?"
"No, pumpkin," Himawari whispered, almost wanting to laugh at the child's wide-eyed innocence. "This is one time where it will not help anything. No matter what you might see or hear, you must be very quiet. Hold tight to me," she whispered, holding the shivering children tighter. She was fairly certain that they could feel her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest, but she still tried to reassure them through the strength of her embrace.
What seemed like hours, but what were really only minutes, ticked away while Himawari waited for something to happen. Her heart leapt into her throat when she finally saw a figure cloaked in black appear through the trees. The voluminous hood was thrown back to reveal the sharp, pale face of the former prince of Faerie, Seishiro.
Seishiro had but one grey eye. Rather than heal it or use a glass one, he proudly left the socket empty as a reminder to all that he had faced and killed Lord Yasha in single combat. Among the beings that dwelt in Faerie, Seishiro had a rare ability. His touch could bring death, even to the immortal fey. His single eye was sharp and held nothing but terror for his enemies. Not even his own father could claim that he had ever seen his boy smile truly. Himawari had once liked to believe that he smiled for Subaru, but now, suddenly becoming the prey to his predator, she could only believe the worst of him.
"I know you're here," he said in a voice no louder than the drop of a pin, but that still somehow managed to send thrills of terror down Himawari's spine. "Why don't we stop playing these little games, Himawari-chan? I'll let you go…if you hand over those children."
He waited a few moments for an answer, allowing his gaze to sweep the forest.
"No?" he asked, almost playfully. "I suppose we'll have to do this the hard way." A ball of fire formed in his hand and he lobbed it at the tree right next to their hiding place. The poor thing quickly went up in flames. Yuui started to scream, but Himawari managed to muffle the sound by pressing the child's face firmly against her breast.
"I'll just smoke you out," he said as he incinerated yet another tree. She could feel Fai shaking like a leaf, trying his best not to cry. Yuui's tears were already starting to soak her skin. As the heat rose around them, Seishiro suddenly walked right up to their tree and placed a hand against its bark. Instantly, the green, living tree withered and died. Himawari only just managed to change the glamour in time. Then the dark prince stared directly at the spot where they lay.
"Fine. Be that way. I rather like this little game. We should play again sometime." Without another word, the fallen prince vanished into thin air.
Himawari hadn't realized just how tense she was until she allowed herself to collapse against the dead tree, drawing several shaky breaths to try and calm herself. Soel and Larg snuggled up against her in an attempt to comfort her. She lessened her death grip on the twins, but only enough so as not to suffocate them. She still held them tightly against her, and they had no objections. Fai and Yuui clung just as tightly to her. Yuui was still crying softly and Fai had given into his terror and let a few tears slide down his face.
"Who was that man?" Fai sniffled.
"A very bad man," Himawari whispered, kissing the tops of their heads. Though Seishiro was gone, she did not trust him to stay that way. She did not release the glamour for quite a while. After both sets of twins had left off crying and shivering, they all fell asleep on top of her, exhausted. Though she was exhausted herself, she took comfort in their closeness. She was still fighting off her own case of the chills as she finally released the glamour. She lay like that for a while longer, trying to regain the shattered pieces of her composure.
"KUNOGI!" a voice suddenly sounded through the trees. Himawari stiffened in fear and began to hyperventilate before realizing that it was Doumeki's voice calling her. He appeared out of almost nowhere, running towards her with his bow drawn. He saw her collapsed against the dead tree, holding the sleeping twins…and automatically assumed the worst.
"What happened? They're not-"
"No. They're fine," Himawari mumbled. "But…Sei…Seishiro…" She couldn't hold it in anymore. Himawari burst into tears. Doumeki laid his bow down and placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her.
"What about Seishiro?"
"He was here. He killed all these trees. He was looking for them," she cried softly. Distraught as she was, she didn't want the twins to wake and see her like this.
"I was afraid of that. I felt the wards shake and I came looking for you. For a moment there…I thought I was too late."
"Well, no worse for wear," Himawari said, trying to smile through her tears. "No one was hurt today."
"Maybe not today, but I still think we need to be more watchful from now on. I think maybe it would be best if we stayed inside for a few days. Let's get them home," Doumeki said gently as he lifted Fai and Soel into his own arms. Himawari nodded, climbing to her feet with Yuui and Larg in tow. As Doumeki led the way back through the forest, Himawari was able to ponder what she hadn't been able to before in her worry for the twins.
He knew where we were the whole time. He was just toying with us! But…if that's the case…if he knew…why didn't he take Fai and Yuui? Why did he let us go?
XxX
In the early, pre-dawn light, Queen Sakura stood, forlornly staring out a window at the beautiful spring day that was about to be born. The air was warm and smelled faintly of apples.
"Your Highness?" she suddenly heard a voice call her. She glanced down the corridor and saw Yukito appear out of the darkness. He was holding a baby boy in his arms. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I just wanted to watch the sun rise," she said, turning back to gaze at the ever lightening horizon. "They'll be seven years old today."
"I know," the high priest said as he came to stand beside her. "It's hard to believe it's already been seven years."
"What about you? Why are you up so early?"
"Eri-chan was being fussy. And as Touya says, 'Yuki, before sunrise, he's your son'."
Eriol was Touya and Yukito's adopted son. His village and everyone in it had been destroyed by fire. He had survived because someone had thrown a wet towel across his cradle. Rescuers from the castle had discovered the screaming child in the smoldering remnants of the cottage two days later. Yukito had taken an immediate liking to the boy and talked Touya into adopting him, giving him the name Eriol. Yukito had guessed him to be about six months old when he came to them, so he didn't need to suckle from the breast anymore. Eriol seemed content with goat's milk from a bottle. Since they had no idea when his birthday was, they had decided that he would share a birthday with their niece and nephew. So today, April 1st, Eriol was a year old.
"You're so lucky, Yukito-san," Sakura said softly, tickling Eriol under the chin. The little boy giggled and snuggled shyly into his adoptive father's embrace.
"Sakura-chan," he said softly, using the name he'd not used for her since they were all children. "We all agreed that it was for the best."
"I know," Sakura sighed. "But I still miss them…so much. They were in my life…such a short while." Ever since her babies had vanished into the forest all those years ago, she felt as if she had been missing a piece of herself. And when they emerged from the forest in eleven years, it would be far too late to truly be a part of their lives. They were gone from her as surely as if Yuuko had slain them anyway.
"Yukito-san…could I please…hold Eri-chan?"
"Of course, my queen," he said, happy to do whatever he could to cheer her up. She always got like this around the twins' birthday. Yukito smiled warmly as he passed his son to his aunt. Sakura took the boy and held him close. Eriol had grey eyes and black hair, but somehow, he still reminded her so much of her own son. What was he like now? Was he a good boy? What was his favorite food? Did he get along well with his sister? She didn't know. But she wanted to…so badly.
She was lying on her bed with both babies lying on her stomach, nursing. It was difficult to feed them both at once, but she sometimes had to and she had learned that this was the best way to do it. She didn't really mind, though. She loved holding the two of them close like this, feeling their tiny heartbeats flutter against her stomach. She had waited so long for this. Fai and Yuui were her miracle.
Yuui suddenly stopped nursing and glanced up at her, a bright smile lighting up her round baby face. She released her grip on her source of food and waved up at her mother. But, as the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon, her daughter's beautiful face twisted into smoke and faded away. Before she could stop them, tears began to slide down Sakura's face and onto Eriol's cheeks.
"Five months," she whispered into the little boy's dark hair. "Five months of memories…and Fai-chan and Yuui-chan won't even have those. I thought Syaoran and I were finally going to have a family."
"But you do have a family, Sakura-chan. You have Touya, and me, and now Eri-chan. You and the king have each other, and Yuui-chan and Fai-chan will come back to us someday."
Sakura nodded, hugging Eriol tighter in an attempt to stave off her sorrow. She would never have the chance to be a mother…not really. She had known that when she she'd seen the warmth in Himawari's face as she held Yuui. It was enough to know that her children were safe.
It would have to be enough.
XxX
Fai sat worriedly beside Doumeki as he spoon-fed Yuui a bowl of chicken soup. The little girl was sweating and shaking and her skin was much paler than usual. She had been confined to bed for about a week now and Fai had had to share a bed with Doumeki because they didn't want him to get sick, too. Yuui had come down with a case of influenza. At first the three faeries had been worried, but Watanuki had mixed in a few charmed herbs with the broth they'd been feeding her. The worst was over now, but the poor girl was still very weak.
"Is Yuui gonna die?" Fai asked, finally voicing the question that had been plaguing his heart all week. This was the first time they'd let him in to see his sister since she'd gotten sick. No one would tell him what was wrong with her...and now, to see her like this…
Doumeki shook his head wearily at the sound of the tears in the seven-year-old's voice. "No, Fai. She's just very sick."
"What's a'matter with her?"
"It's called influenza."
"In-flu-en-za," Fai repeated slowly. "When will she get better?"
"Soon," Doumeki answered firmly. Fai nodded, taking comfort from the conviction in his guardian's voice. As Doumeki fed Yuui the last of the soup, Fai crawled up beside her on their large bed. He took her hand in his and she opened her eyes, smiling tiredly up at him.
"Hey, Fai," she greeted, sounding happy despite her scratchy voice.
"Hey, sis," he returned as he lay down beside her. "How do ya feel?"
"Sorta hot and cold…and funny all over," she mumbled.
"You should probably get some more sleep," Doumeki advised as he prepared another cool, wet rag for her forehead.
"But I wanna talk to Fai," the sick child said, trying to sound indignant through her sickness. "I haven't seen him in forever."
"Did they tell you that Larg got into the flour?"
"No!"
"Well, he did. He was bouncing all over the place and leaving prints everywhere and Watanuki got really mad," Fai giggled.
"I can't believe I missed it," Yuui whined softly. Then a yawn escaped her lips.
"Hey! Are you okay?" Fai asked, immediately getting worried again. "Do you need to sleep some more?"
"Maybe," she sighed.
"Oh, okay," Fai said, sounding slightly disappointed. "I'll go."
Yuui's grip on his hand tightened. "No. Don't go. Stay with me."
Fai nodded happily and snuggled in closer to his sister.
"Doumeki?" Yuui asked sleepily. "Will you sing us a song?"
Doumeki tensed up slightly at this. This was usually Himawari's area…maybe even Watanuki's. For some reason, the twins really loved being sung to. But…
"I don't sing," he said as he switched out the now-dry cloth on Yuui's forehead.
"Please," the twins begged in unison.
Doumeki smiled sardonically. The very thought of him, Faerie's chief assassin, singing to a pair of children was almost laughable. No enemy would ever fear him again. But Fai and Yuui were, in some ways, worse than any enemy he had ever faced. They could break him with a simple look. There was nothing he could deny them.
"Well, if it will make you feel better…I do remember one song…" he trailed off as he recalled the singer of the song: his mother…Oruha. It had been so long ago…
The twins said nothing. They encouraged him simply by giving him their undivided attention. So, in a deep, baritone voice, the Darkness began to sing the lullaby from his distant childhood.
Once upon a time
And long ago,
I heard someone singing
Soft and low.
Now when day is done
And night is near,
I recall this song
I used to hear.
My child, my very own,
Don't be afraid. You're not alone.
Sleep until the dawn,
For all is well.
What none of them realized was that while Doumeki had been singing, Himawari and Watanuki had crept up to the door to listen. At first, they had been concerned at hearing such an unfamiliar voice coming from the twins' room. But then, almost simultaneously, they'd realized that it was Doumeki singing. Truth be told, neither of them was really surprised by it. Yuui and Fai had this effect on all of them. They brought out everything in them that was good.
Long ago this song
Was sung to me.
Now it's just a distant
Melody.
Somewhere from the past
I used to know.
Once upon a time
And long ago.
XxX
Sweat dripped down the boy's face and into his eyes, but he ignored the sting of salt as he pressed forward with his training sword.
Kurogane and his sensei, Kusanagi, were locked in a fierce battle. Much to Kurogane's anger, Kusanagi had told him that he still wasn't ready for a real sword, so they battled with blunted training swords.
"You're letting your anger get the best of you, Prince," Kusanagi said, not showing any signs of fatigue himself.
"Of course I'm angry!" the eleven-year-old shot back. "You won't let me use a real sword! Why are we still fooling around with these kids' toys?"
"Because you're not ready," Kusanagi returned calmly, easily blocking the enraged swings of his pupil. "When you can overcome your anger and understand why you aren't ready…only then will you be ready for a blade." Truth be told, he was disappointed. He had expected much better of the prince. He hadn't expected him to have so much anger.
"Why am I not ready?!"
"The fact that you need to ask is proof enough that you are not. If you let your anger control you like this, it will cloud your judgment to the point where you won't be able to see what's right in front of you. If you lose control like that with a real blade, you can cut what you don't mean to cut…destroy what you mean to protect. Right now, your anger is making you sloppy. You might be the best among your age mates, even a few older than you, but I can read your every move like an open scroll."
The young prince gave a cry like an enraged bull and leapt high into the air. Employing a move that should have been a good three years above his skill level, he brought his sword crashing down, half-meaning to bash his master's skull in. Both swords shattered on impact and Kurogane collapsed to his knees before the sword master, panting in exhaustion. Kusanagi stood over him, calm as ever.
"That's enough for today," he admonished as he picked up the broken pieces of sword and moved off of the training ground. Kurogane couldn't even draw enough breath to get in an angry last word. The boy leaned over and pounded an angry fist against the ground.
"Smooth, Kurogane." He suddenly heard an extremely annoying female voice drop into the training arena.
"Bite me, Souma!" he said angrily as he glanced up at the intruder. The eight-year-old noble was dressed in a dark green yukata and her black hair hung unbound to her waist. "Aren't you supposed to be at lessons right now?"
"Meh, I didn't feel like it today. A girl can only take so much 'always walk with your head up, never raise your voice, and always hold your chopsticks just so'," she said daintily, openly mocking her nurse, Sonomi. "I wish I could train with you, but father won't let me."
Kurogane smirked, his anger alleviating slightly. Souma was anything but a proper noble's daughter. Her mother, the Lady Hokuto, had died giving birth to her. Kurogane barely remembered the event, but he did remember Hokuto as a bright smile and a warm lap. Apparently, she and Souma were very much alike. Hokuto hated ceremony, but ever since her death, Souma's father, Lord Kakyo Kuzuki, clung desperately to ceremony. He forced Souma to be the most perfect little lady she could be. Of course, that just made her more desperate to rebel against him. She hated the role she was being forced into. From what she heard, her mother would never have stood for it. Some of the servants even had the audacity to whisper behind her back that Kakyo kept Souma on such a tight leash because he didn't want to be reminded of Hokuto…that he blamed his daughter for her death. Souma heard the whispers, but Kurogane knew that she didn't need to. She had always blamed herself.
"Kusanagi-san's right, you know. You really shouldn't lose your temper like that," the young girl reprimanded him.
"What? Like you're so much better?" Kurogane hissed nastily as he moved back toward the palace. Souma followed quickly after him, taking two steps for every one of his.
"Maybe not. But at least I know when to keep my mouth shut," she returned primly. Kurogane was about to respond when he heard a sound that he didn't like coming from the shrines.
"Hime, you must try harder," the voice of Chang Ang insisted.
"I am trying!" his little sister's distraught voice echoed to him across the grounds. "But I can't see anything. I can't choose what I see."
"Well, that's what we're here for."
If it had been any other day, Kurogane might have been able to bear it. But right now he was extremely pissed off and the stuffy high priest was about to bear the brunt of his anger. Kurogane marched purposefully towards the shrine where he heard the voices, Souma right on his heels.
Kurogane swung the thin paper door open with so much force that he very nearly broke it. There was Chang Ang, standing behind his sister. Tomoyo herself was leaning over a large black bowl filled with water, staring resolutely into its depths. But she couldn't hide the beginning signs of tears from her big brother. Kurogane moved in on the aged priest as Souma moved toward Tomoyo. The enraged prince spun the man around and grabbed the collar of his robes.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"She's tired. Let her have a break," Kurogane hissed dangerously, keeping his hold on Chang Ang as Souma hustled Tomoyo out of the room.
"But she needs to practice other means of divining. We can't stop for little things like breaks right now."
"She's six years old. She's taking a break," he said firmly before turning and following Souma and Tomoyo out of the shrine. When they were safely away, Kurogane picked up his baby sister and slung her over his shoulder.
"'Nii-sama, you brute! Where are you taking me?" she asked, half-heartedly beating a fist against his back. Kurogane always carried her like this because he knew she enjoyed it. Plus, it was easier for him. Tomoyo was getting heavy.
"To your room. You're taking a nap."
Tomoyo suddenly became serious again. "But…I don't wanna go to sleep. Chang Ang-sama will make me tell him what I see."
Kurogane sighed. He knew his sister didn't sleep much anymore for that very reason. She was a growing girl. She needed her rest. But she didn't like Chang Ang pressuring her to interpret what she saw. She would gladly share any dreams she had with Kurogane, but the high priest was another matter. He would put her on the spot and pick her to pieces...and now he was making her learn divining methods that were well above her age level.
"Don't worry, Tomoyo-chan. We'll make sure you have a nice, long nap. No big-mouthed priests to interrupt," Souma assured her as the three friends entered the little girl's room. Souma slid the door closed behind them and went to sit on Tomoyo's futon. Kurogane laid Tomoyo down and she rested her head on Souma's lap. Kurogane sat down beside them and his sister snuggled up comfortably between the two of them. The boy started massaging her back comfortingly and Souma started to hum a soft melody.
"Mm, that's a nice song, Souma-chan," Tomoyo said sleepily. "What're the words?"
Souma blushed lightly at the compliment. "I don't remember all of them. It's a song Sonomi used to sing…when she was just my nurse and not my tutor."
"Sing what you do remember. Please," Tomoyo begged, pulling her best Bambi face.
Souma giggled. "Alright. Anything for you, Tomoyo-chan."
Two little princesses
Dancing in a road,
Spinning fast and freely
On their little toes.
Where the light will take them,
No one ever knows.
Two little princesses
Dancing in a road.
Two little princesses
Dancing in a road,
Spinning fast and freely
On their little toes.
Where the light will take them,
There's only one way to know.
Two little princesses
Dancing in a road.
Souma kept singing, humming the parts she couldn't remember. Before long, Tomoyo was fast asleep, cuddled between the two of them like a little bunny rabbit.
"You're really good with her," Kurogane said quietly.
Souma gave him an incredulous look. "So are you. I mean, you're her brother."
"Yeah. I'm just saying, Tomoyo really likes you."
The young noble suddenly got a very contemplative look on her face. "Do you think…maybe this is what Kusanagi-san was talking about?"
Kurogane raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
"About…destroying what you mean to protect. What if…you accidentally hurt Tomoyo-chan?"
Kurogane was about to violently protest, but then he remembered how he'd felt not half an hour ago when he'd wanted to run Kusanagi through. Kusanagi…the only one who had known him longer was his own mother. If he was capable of thinking such violence against his own master, what was to stop him from losing control in front of Tomoyo?
"Sonomi says that most people have to mess something up before they really learn. I don't think this is something you wanna mess up."
Kurogane sat, frozen, unable to say anything. The thought of actually…losing control…hurting Tomoyo…
I think…maybe I understand…
He turned to say something more to Souma, but found that she had dozed off herself, her head resting lightly against his shoulder. The boy rolled his eyes, realizing that he was in for a long wait. He would have to apologize to Kusanagi sometime today. He couldn't do that with the snoozing girls draped all over him. But, at the same time, he found that he didn't mind so much as all that.
XxX
"You have to pull the string back further," Doumeki coached. He, Fai, and Yuui were all in a clearing not too far from their home practicing archery. After the incident with Seishiro, they had all decided that it would be best for the twins to learn how to use some kind of weapon…when they were old enough, of course. Now that they had reached their ninth birthday, Doumeki had decided that they were old enough to learn archery. So he had set up several targets away from the cottage and fashioned his adopted children toy bows and blunted arrow shafts to shoot with. He wouldn't risk them using real arrows yet and he knew neither of them was strong enough to string a good bow, but he figured that now was as good a time as any for them to start working on their aim. He was currently working with Fai while Yuui waited her turn in the shade of a nearby tree. She was humming to herself and linking several wild flowers together into some kind of chain.
"But it won't go any further!" Fai insisted pitifully.
"It will," Doumeki said calmly as he knelt next to Fai, placing his hands on his to help guide him. "It wants to. But you must find the strength to help it reach its full potential. That bow is capable of making your arrow fly further than your eyes can see, but it can't do it without you."
Fai closed his eyes, breathing steadily as he focused on Doumeki's words. He'd already failed so many times to make the arrow fly. He didn't want to fail again. He gripped the bow tightly and felt the earth beneath his feet, firmly grounding him. Doumeki held his hands in place and, somehow, he managed to draw the arrow back those last few inches. Triumph shone in his eyes as they popped open.
"Don't let your guard down just yet," Doumeki advised as he relinquished his hold on the boy. "It's not over until you make the shot."
Fai stood absolutely still for a moment, remembering Doumeki's warning not to be too hasty and fire off a shot before he was ready. He took that extra moment to aim the blunted arrow. Then…he released it.
The arrow flew true…and hit home with a resounding thunk. Not the very center of the target, of course, but at least he'd hit it this time. The next moment, Fai felt arms around his body.
"Fai! You did it!" Yuui cheered. Her twin was slightly taken aback at first. He hadn't even realized his sister was behind him. But he soon got over it and glanced happily at Yuui and Doumeki.
"Yeah! I really did, didn't I?" he said, not quite certain if he was dreaming or not.
"Yeah, you did," Doumeki said, reaching down and affectionately rumpling the little boy's blonde hair. "Good job. I knew you could make it fly. And now…it's Yuui's turn."
The little blonde angel growled just a little as Fai removed his wrist guards and handed them to her.
XxX
Kurogane was bored. And when a thirteen-year-old prince with mad ninja skills is bored, all the world knows that there will be hell to pay.
Earlier that morning, Kurogane had had a picnic lunch prepared and he'd saddled up his horse, Suwa. The prince had never been very good with horses, and no one had expected him to form the bond that he had with the black stallion. But for some reason, Kurogane had been determined to tame him. It had taken some doing, but the proud creature had eventually tamed its wild heart to Kurogane's hand. Boy and horse had become the best of friends and, as per his training, the only people who could ride Suwa were himself, Tomoyo, and Souma. Today, the four of them would have been going on their greatest adventure to date, but Souma had gotten herself in trouble again. Something about putting blue dye in Sonomi's hair care items. She was under strict house arrest by order of her father. There was no way he'd be able to break her out. So it would just be him, Tomoyo, and Suwa…assuming he successfully managed to kidnap Tomoyo, that is.
Kurogane was listening intently outside the door to the shrine where Chang Ang and his sister were working. Occasionally, he would peek through the door, which was cracked open just slightly to allow the morning breeze into the shrine. Chang Ang was drilling his sister in the proper methods of bone casting. Kurogane was well aware that he would get in trouble for this. He had yet to hear the end of it from their mother the last time he had stolen Tomoyo away from her studies. But he really didn't care. No kid could be about their studies every hour of every day. So he was treating himself and his sister to a day off. He would have to remember to bring Souma back something cool.
When Chang Ang finally moved away from Tomoyo to help another miko with something, Kurogane silently slid the door open and crept inside. He placed a hand over Tomoyo's mouth. Her eyes widened briefly, but then she felt a familiar arm around her torso and realized it was Kurogane. She quickly relaxed, allowing her brother to quietly drag her out of the shrine.
Once they were free, they scrambled to their feet and Kurogane started running toward the stables, leading Tomoyo.
"'Nii-sama, what's going on?" the eight-year-old princess asked excitedly.
"We're going exploring," he answered.
"Ohohoho! Another one of your adventures. Yay!" she cheered as they burst into Suwa's stall. Her brother's little outings were always so much fun. Sometimes they would explore the marketplace in Shirasagi. Other times they would visit some of the smaller villages that surrounded the capital. Once or twice they had even ventured into Celes forest.
Kurogane easily helped Tomoyo climb onto Suwa's saddle. Then he led the stallion out of his stall and climbed up behind her. That was when he heard the most horrifying sound in all of Nihon.
"TOMOYO! KUROGANE!" Chang Ang shouted angrily as he stomped into the stable. His face was red with anger and effort. "Enough of this foolishness!"
Tomoyo glanced sadly back at her brother, as if to apologize for getting them caught. But Kurogane had a look of steely determination in his eyes. He was not about to give way to this sour old man. He would be king here someday, after all. He gave Suwa a good dig with his heels, and the powerful animal surged forward on a collision course with the high priest.
The man stood his ground for a moment. A fierce glee flared up in Kurogane's chest when he saw the realization in his eyes. The moment Chang Ang realized that Kurogane was not going to stop, he threw himself out of the way. As the royal siblings flew by on the black arrow of rippling muscle, the high priest landed in a pile of soiled hay with an undignified yelp.
Kurogane gave a wild whoop of joy as Suwa shot away from the castle and down through the streets of Shirasagi. It was too early in the morning for there to be crowds out. Shopkeepers and street vendors were just beginning to set up shop as the two flew by on Suwa. The prince had warned one of his guard friends, Sorata, that he and Tomoyo would be coming through, so there wouldn't be any problems with the city gates. In fact, he could see the open gates just ahead. Sorata had kept his word. Kurogane caught a glimpse of him waving as he and Tomoyo breezed by.
"Thanks, Sorata!" he called over his shoulder. Tomoyo giggled.
"You thought of everything, didn't you?"
"Have fun, you two!" Sorata called after them.
XxX
"I can't believe we actually talked them into letting us go out by ourselves," Yuui said excitedly. She and Fai were riding Leval through the forest. Soel and Larg were perched atop their heads.
"Well, isn't it obvious?" Fai started teasingly. "They let us go out alone because Doumeki finally decided that I can shoot good enough to protect you."
"I can shoot just as good as you!" Yuui shot back indignantly. "Besides, if we really got in trouble, it wouldn't matter how good we could shoot because Doumeki won't let us use real arrows yet. All the arrows in your quiver are blunted."
"Wanna bet?" the ten-year-old said mischievously as he pulled an arrow from his quiver. The point was sharp and deadly.
"Where did you get that? Doumeki didn't give it to you, did he?" Yuui asked angrily. If Doumeki trusted Fai with a real arrow and not her…
"Of course not. I lifted it from his quiver before we left. I figured we might need it."
"Ooooh, Fai's a bad boy!" Soel reprimanded.
"But you won't tell, will you, Soel?" Fai asked with a disarming smile. "This is self-defense we're talking about, after all."
"Mm, okay. Fai has convinced Mokona," the little white thing said cheerfully. It did love a good game. Besides, Soel knew that it and Larg could handle anything that might happen. The real reason Doumeki, Himawari, and Watanuki had let the twins take Leval out by themselves was because Soel and Larg were with them.
"Hey, did you see that?" Fai asked, suddenly whispering.
"What?" Yuui whispered back.
"I saw something up ahead, through the trees. Something black."
Yuui followed her brother's gaze. After awhile, she managed to spot what he was looking at.
"It's a horse," she announced quietly. "And he's got two riders. But…who would come this far into the forest? Watanuki said that no one lives here but us."
"Let's have some fun," Fai said giddily as he slithered silently off of Leval's back.
"Wait, Fai!" Yuui hissed, grabbing onto her twin's shoulder. "They might be dangerous. Himawari told us never to talk to strangers."
"It's fine, Yuui. Even if they are dangerous, no one can catch me," he said, grinning roguishly before vanishing into the foliage. He circled around the overgrown path that the horse was on and easily climbed up a tall tree. Its branches grew out over the old trail, right over the spot where the horse and its riders had come to a stop. The riders were a boy and a girl. If Fai had to guess, he would say that the boy was older than him and the girl was younger. The boy's intense red gaze swept the forest suspiciously. Fai grinned wickedly to himself as he selected an arrow from his quiver and notched it to his bow.
XxX
"We've never been this far into the forest before," Tomoyo said, her voice hushed with awe. Kurogane would have joined in her wonder were it not for the fact that he knew they were being watched. Kusanagi had taught him well. He could feel the prick of a pair of eyes on the back of his neck. Someone was near. He knew it. He said nothing, so as not to alarm his sister. His gaze swept the forest several times as he fingered the hilt of the sword strapped to his belt. On his twelfth birthday, Kusanagi had finally presented him with his own sword, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship called Sohi. He worked with it so much the blade was practically an extension of his arm.
Suddenly, something white swung down from the tree branches above. In the same instant, Kurogane drew Sohi, raising it just above his head. The thing stopped several inches from the young prince's face. It was a boy, a boy with blonde hair hanging upside down from the tree branch. A boy who happened to be aiming an arrow right between his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" the boy asked, a dangerous, teasing smile working its way onto his face. "Celes Forest is no place for humans."
"You're a human," Kurogane pointed out.
"Am I?"
"Are you one of the faerie people?" Tomoyo asked excitedly, as if she had expected the boy to drop from the sky the whole time.
"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. Put away your sword and you might find out," he said to Kurogane, that oh so annoying smile still in place.
"No way!" the prince shot back. "Not unless you drop your bow!"
"The guest should disarm first."
"Guest? What guest? Do you know who I am?!"
"Enlighten me."
"I am Prince Kurogane Youou, heir to the throne of Nihon! I'm no guest of yours!"
"A fine title, to be sure, Prince-sama. But did you know that you're not in Nihon anymore? Celes belongs to no kingdom. This is my home. Therefore, you are my guest."
"What kind of host threatens to shoot their guests between the eyes?"
"I could just as easily consider you a trespasser."
"That isn't even a real arrow," Kurogane said angrily.
"Maybe not," the boy conceded. "But I do have the high ground."
"Oh, Kurogane! Please put Sohi down. I like him," Tomoyo begged. Kurogane sighed. It never failed. Tomoyo pulled that sweet, innocent voice on him and he was helpless. She was a real snake, his sister.
"Fine. But only if you drop your bow, too."
"I can do that."
Never once taking his eyes from the boy, Kurogane slowly lowered Sohi to his side. At the same time, the mystery boy loosened his arrow from the bow. As Sohi fell to the earth, the boy flung his bow and arrow away. Then he dropped to the ground beside Suwa. The horse panicked slightly but Kurogane managed to rein him in.
"So are you a faerie?" Tomoyo asked as she hopped off of Suwa with Kurogane close behind her.
"I wasn't kidding when I said maybe I am and maybe I'm not. I'm not really sure."
"I'm Tomoyo," the little princess introduced herself enthusiastically. "What's your name?"
The boy didn't answer right away. He turned to glance back into the forest and called loudly. Before long, a white horse came riding out of the trees. A beautiful young girl sat astride the horse. Her eyes were blue and her blonde hair hung unbound to about the middle of her back. Kurogane glanced back at the boy and noticed that he had the same rare, sapphire blue eyes. For a moment, he could have sworn that he recognized the boy, but the feeling was gone the next instant when he started talking again.
"I'm Fai. And this is my twin sister, Yuui. Welcome to our forest."
XxX
(A/N) Anyone still there? Did you survive? Oh, yay! That's exciting. Well, I do hope you enjoyed this exceedingly long chapter. A few things I should mention: There Is Life is from Bambi II, actually a very good movie considering the recent work we've been seeing from Disney. Distant Melody is from Peter Pan the musical, always excellent. Two Little Princesses is from Tin Man, a wonderful sci-fi spin on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. If you've seen that, then you are an extremely kick-ass person. Doumeki's assassin codename, Darkness, is actually from another series of books, but come on! Seriously? What cooler name is there for an assassin?
Unfortunately, I feel obligated to warn all of my shiny, fuzzy readers that I may not be able to update until after finals at the end of April, but we'll just have to see what happens. You at least get the assurance that summer break is coming up fast for me and I will spend the summer writing this story until it is done. So until chapter three, I bid thee adieu.
