Chapter VIII: Complications

Eriol led the two of them on another tour after everyone had eaten their meals and dispersed for the night. He led them to the southern wall of the cavern and up a very unstable looking rope ladder before escorting them to another large dome dug into the wall. Inside the dome were two shabby looking mattresses separated by a curtain made from several pieces for fabric sewn together. Two large Victorian looking sconces sat parallel and opposite each other on either side of the curtain, small white candles casting dark shadows on the crevasses of the brown walls, which in the candlelight sparkled with the luminescence of a thousand shattered diamonds. Sakura gasped in surprise when she saw the walls weren't just an ugly brown, Eriol smiled at her gesture.

"From far away they're just brown...dull, bland, and pointedly ugly. But these caverns used to be mine shafts, they're full of diamonds, everywhere. Its really beautiful, huh?" Eriol explained as Sakura ran her hand along the jagged wall. She hummed a response and sat down on the low mattress.

"What were they used for? The diamonds?" Syaoran asked as he took his seat. Eriol shrugged.

"A long time ago, The Queen used them for practical magic uses, divination and whatnot. But when the Witch discovered her sister using the diamonds as something like catalysts, The Queen had the mines sealed and all the shafts filled in so the Witch couldn't find them. Only recently did the Queen open them up again for us to use as a base." he said. Syaoran sighed, watching Sakura occupy herself with the wall.

"Okay, well, small talk out of the way. You need to talk." he said, grabbing Sakuras attention moments after.

"Right." Eriol sighed. He situated himself on the ground and crossed his legs before taking a deep breath and beginning.
"Well, where I left off, the Witch had just killed her parents. Right?" he asked thoughtfully.

"no...something about the Witch not being able to get into Sakuras world." Syaoran sighed, drawing his knees up to his chin and resting it on his elbows.

"Right. So yes...Okay, the Witch, after figuring out that entering the world above would surely kill her, she fled back to her castle, and went through a thorough interview and elimination process until she found a man named Takashi. He claimed he had been to Sakuras world before to hide from betraying his kingdom. Realizing that this man may hate the Wonderland monarchy almost or just as much as the Witch did, she accepted his terms and put him through intense training to become the most skilled assassin in both realms. He took on the name the White Rabbitt, to signify not only the mans stealth and speed, but some say his vengeance and hatred for Wonderland was as intense as the white hot heat flame at the source of a fire. When the Witch declared the man completely ready, she assigned him to locate the target; a young woman in the Upper Realm, who would have been generally hard to find, but the Rabbitt was able to detect auras, and this little girl could be defined by 'the nearly blinding and incredibly, sickeningly warm white light that surrounded her'. The White Rabbit, angry that he was not assigned to merely kill the girl, accepted the mission with malice and quickly made his way to the Upper Realm, where he spent the next four years watching this girl live her simple life. He surveyed her house day and night, learning why a small broken family was chosen to guard Wonderlands greatest treasure. It turns out when Sakura was taken to that world, the family was a small one of three. A young woman who held her own as a clairvoyant and medical practitioner, her husband, highly successful as...something, and-"

"-he works for a toy company. One of the best there is..." Sakura blurted out, a hollow voice and dead eyes. She blinked after and coughed. The two stared at her dumbfounded and she raised an eyebrow.
"What? Why did you stop? Id like to hear about this family I had..." she exclaimed. Syaoran frowned and pursed his lips.

"I thought you said you didn't know anything about who you were before you fell down here? You just told us what your father did for work!" He said, sounding a bit offended.

"I did?? When??" Sakura asked, sounding amazed and as always, a bit clueless.

"What do you mean when? You just said it! Eriol said your father did something, being successful at it, and then you blurted out he worked for a toy company!" Syaoran said loudly.

"He does? I did? Hmm..." she muttered, staring at the wall again, falling strangely silent. Eriol cleared his throat and began again.
"Her husband, who, I guess worked for a toy company, and their young son. The woman found baby Sakura by a large oak tree, sound asleep. She quickly took her home and without wait, made her a part of their small family. That night, she found a note stitched into the silken fabric of the blanket she was swaddled in. The note explained who the baby was and why she was left to the care of someone from their world. It asked to care for the baby like it was their own and never let her know who she really was or who she would have been should she have stayed in Wonderland. When Sakura turned 16, the White Rabbitt began to follow her in hopes that she would get curious and follow him down his hole. Two years past before the Rabbitt began to drive Sakura beyond her breaking point. The fated day she fell down here, The Rabbitt had lured her from school and down a portal he created to travel between realms. After he was sure she had fallen, he quickly made it appear as if Sakura had never existed, making sure everyone who had ever come in contact with her had those memories of her shattered, completely erased, without the slightest chance of ever regaining them. Once things were finished in the Upper Realm, he quickly set to making plans to get Sakura to the Mirror Queen. And the rest you know, Sakura." Eriol finished matter-of-factly. Sakura sighed uncomfortably and nodded. Syaorans eyebrow furrowed, recalling what had happened to her when she was in the Mirror Queens captivity, the thought made him incredibly angry and blatantly disgusted. Eriol coughed, bringing the attention back to himself before beginning to talk again.

"Now, we know the general whereabouts of the Witches castle, but she has recently cast a spell or charm on the building itself; it makes it so people can see the castle, but they cant focus on it and overlook it completely. So no one ever really knows where exactly it is, just the vicinity. Now, some of the people here have been scanning a lot of the tunnels that have been, until a few weeks ago, completely inaccessible. We have reason to believe the tunnels map across the lands in every direction, we think if we find the right one, we'll be located right next to or directly under the Witches castle. If we can get there, we'll most likely be able to devise a plan to get at the Witch, or at least destroy whatever it is she is using to hold her power. Now, unfortunately, since there have been increasing threats aimed at the Witch, The White Rabbitt has been guarding her like the greatest treasure in the world. He's ten times stronger than when he kidnapped you, thanks to charms and enchantments the Witch has cast on him, protection charms, strength, power, that junk. We have to get the Rabbit taken care of before we can even begin to dream about taking down the Witch." Eriol complained, running his hands through his hair and sighing angrily.

"What do you need us for then? It doesn't seem like we can do much to help you." Syaoran asked, sounding a bit more than annoyed. Eriol looked up and shook his head.

"I was hoping you would know. At first, that is...you see, we have...well, you'll have to meet her eventually. Anyways, she saw you coming here weeks before you knew you were yourself! She told me you were just like your grandmother and as soon as she released that information, I knew great things would come from you. You just need training. And emotion. We've got a lot of work to do, Sakura..."he exclaimed.
"Come on, you should get started as soon as you can!" he said, grabbing for her hand and dragging her out of the crevasse in the wall.

"Wait! What the hell are you talking about?!" Sakura protested, pulling against his hand. He let go quickly and Sakura stumbled into Syaoran, who quickly wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from smashing her head into a jutting, sharp rock, right where her head would have landed. She looked up into his eyes and immediately felt a strange heat ignite on her face and neck. She quickly steadied herself and shied away into a wall.
"I don't understand what your talking about, Eriol. I'm nobody. This girl, this person you've been telling me all about, I cant believe that. I cant even remember my last name much less my childhood, real or false. Also, how could some lady see me coming before I knew I was. It wasn't even our decision to come here, you dragged us here from the Witches castle...and there's another point. You said no one could find the Witches palace, but you were there, and there were a ton of people at the castle, who I assume come and go. So don't tell us nobody knows how to get there. I'm not sure if we can believe everything you've said at this point." Sakura said sternly, drawing both men into complete silence. Eriol put his first two fingers to his forehead and sighed.

"You were paying more attention than I thought. I didn't think you could comprehend everything I was telling you just there..." he sighed, sounding defeated. Syaoran crossed his arms over his chest and stepped in front of Sakura a fraction, in almost a protective stance. He himself didn't understand why, only that it seemed the right thing to do.

"What are you doing, Eriol. Why didn't you tell the truth?" he said angrily. Eriol shook his head.

"I told the truth...I just left bits out of it. But it was necessary." he said softly. "you need to see the woman I was talking about. She will tell you everything, without skipping anything or stretching the truth in part like I did. She'll explain everything. But wait until tomorrow. I think its time you two went to sleep." he said quietly, holding himself carefully, as if to make a quick escape. Syaoran glared at him briefly before shaking his head and laying down. Closing his eyes, Syaoran appeared to be drifting off to sleep quickly, Sakura already snoring lightly across the room. As Eriol turned to leave, he heard Syaoran whisper his name angrily, beckoning him to turn around.

"I don't know what your game is, Eriol, but I don't trust you. If you do anything to hurt Sakura or mess up her chances of getting her life back, I will make sure you never have to worry about anything save for when and where I will kill you." he warned. The lamplight coming from the sconces allowed Syaoran to see Eriol smile a little, as if taking the threat lightly.

"What do you care what I do to Sakura?" he asked, sounding like a completely different person. "If I recall, you too are missing some emotions and memories yourself...isn't...isn't compassion one of them?? Your threats are hollow and I wont heed them. If there is anyone in this world you can trust, its me...know that. Goodnight, Syaoran." Eriol said pleasantly before turning on his heel and making his way down the rope ladder just outside the dome.


Sakura woke several hours later with the small recollection of passing out while Eriol was telling a story. She felt bad about not hearing what Eriol had to say, but a sudden wave of exhaustion passed over her, and she couldn't ignore it no matter how hard she tried. She was sure, however, that she had not missed much, and she was more concerned now about meeting the strange woman Eriol kept referring to.

Syaoran had already gotten up and was sitting on the makeshift bed across from hers, making a futile attempt to get some kind of green sewer muck off of his pant leg. He looked up at her and smiled, but she noticed it was a hollow one, not as sincere as they normally were, or at least, that's how it seemed. She straightened herself out and stood up to stretch, the backs of her hands scraping against the roof of the cavern. Below, a hushed murmur of voices mixed with the constant babble of the dozens of streams branching off from the main one that split the area in half. Twenty or so people wandered the grounds, most of the traffic came from a large tunnel in the far east wall, opposite the entrance. A few women carried baskets filled with green roots and assorted plants, two people at the edge of the stream with large mesh screens over brown clay pots, apparently sifting sand and debris out of the water. One woman walked along the stream with a small child with sandy blonde hair and a pale pink dress. The woman sat her daughter down on the bank and helped her take her sandals off, the little girl wriggled her toes in the water and giggled as her mother pulled out a mesh screen similar to the others and attached it to a light beige jar, running it through the stream like the other women, hoping to get some fresh water for the day. By the entrance to the caves, Eriol spoke with three men wearing what looked like giant black boxes on their stomachs. Eriol was waving his arms almost in an angry gesture and pounded the wall with his fist. The three men looked down at their feet and with heavy heads, turned towards the entrance and headed into the dark tunnel. Eriol stormed off in the opposite direction and pushed through a bright red curtain next to another large tunnel. Sakura returned her attention to the stream, where the young woman and her daughter were splashing water at each other momentarily before she was distracted by a loud popping behind her. Sakura whirled around quickly to see Eriol standing in a cloud of red dust kicked up from the ground. He seemed upset, his posture lazy and his hair, which was a glossy black last night, was now caked with varying shades of brown dirt.

"Come...you need to meet the woman I was talking about." he ordered, grabbing Sakuras hand and Syaoran by the back of his shirt. More red dirt kicked up as another popping sound echoed in the den and she felt the familiar yet still uncomfortable pulling sensation as her feet left the ground. Moments after, her feet touched ground and she opened her eyes to a dark room lit dimly with thousands of small candles. A musky aroma filled the air, a large round table stood in the center of the room. The table was covered with a thick, blood red cloth topped with a few candles, larger than the rest, and strange silver triangle sat in the center, surround by dozens of small reflective gems. A figure sat behind the table, her face masked by a thick looking black cloak, the only thing visible being her eyes, which were a startling shade of purple. She wore layer upon layer of robes, all black or red, her neck decorated with beads that appeared brown, but in the light refracted every color known, a lot like the cave walls. Her then hands, unsurprisingly gloved, rested nonchalantly in front of the silver triangle and waited patiently for the three of them to be seated.

Eriol pressed his hands into Syaoran and Sakuras shoulders, signaling them to sit down before he himself took a seat against the back wall of the room. Sakura looked around and noticed that the walls were draped with light blue fabrics, the gold painted sconces spaced apart evenly were donned with numbers ranging from one to twelve, with smaller fixtures in between each whole number, marked with a number ranging from twelve to twenty. She realized that the entire room was laid out much like a clock, The silver triangle was the center and the candles on the table were positioned like hands on the face of a clock. Not all of the fixtures were lit, however, the only ones that were had the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the fronts. She assumed the lit fixtures signified the time, but they didn't tell her much as nowhere had she seen a window to tell her what color blue the sky was at the time. The two of them stared at the violet eyed woman expectantly, hoping to see the slightest shift in her position, only to realize soon after that she was not going to move. Eriol nodded off behind them, his head drooping to his shoulder, his breathing slow and even. The woman's eyes flicked to his sleeping figure before focusing directly on Sakura. Despite how hard she tried to look away, the woman held Sakuras gaze, making sure the connection was not broken.

Sakura began to hear a loud ringing in her ears and her vision became distorted, everything but the woman became fuzzy as the ringing grew louder and louder. Then, just as quickly as the ringing started, it stopped and a woman's voice, smooth and kind, was calling her name. Sakura opened her eyes to a white room, the violet eyed woman standing in the middle of it. Her face was uncovered, revealing unusually young features; dark brown hair that fell past her waist was pulled up into knots in some places, making something like a crown of hair. The knots were decorated with the same reddish brown gems as the ones on her necklace, which laid carefully on the woman's ivory skin. In place of her robes, she wore a simple white dress and on the back of each hand and on her forehead sat a dark purple crescent moon. Sakura heard her name again, and began to walk towards the woman, who was calling her without moving her lips. She smiled and reached out a thin hand to Sakura, who took it without a second thought. The white around them melted away to show an expansive field, hosting thousands upon thousands of flowers. White fluffy clouds speckled the light blue sky and on top of a hill that seemed years away sat a very large, very old tree, its leaves a fiery orange. The woman, who Sakura knew was named Tomoyo, without ever being told it, put her arm around Sakuras shoulder and turned her around, where the scene was nothing like the meadow she was just marveling at.

It was the meadow, still. The flowers were smaller in number and looked a bit weak. The fluffy white clouds were turning a grey, sick color and the refreshing light blue that painted the sky became the thick vibrant blue that always hung in the Wonderland sky. On the hill, the vibrant tree was wilting, its orange leaves turning to a brown color, some of them fell off the branches and littered the ground around the trunk of the tree. Beyond the hill was a real change, however. Instead of a clear, crisp horizon, Thick smog and a very industrialized city took up the space. Tall buildings spat ugly black smoke from their chimneys and a siren sounded in the distance before rolling over the hill and reaching Sakuras ears louder than she expected. Her hands flew to her ears, her eyes squeezed shut, hoping to block out the siren that disappeared as the air around the two of them got colder.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes to find the meadow had become significantly smaller and sported a thin layer of frost. The hill and the old tree were gone, in their place sat a large castle built from sparkling rocks and stones of varying sizes. The red roof provided support for several large towers that waved a small green flag proudly. Numerous trees occupied space that was once meadow, small red and yellow eyes peeked out of holes and crevasses, hoping to get a look at who was trespassing their woods. Sakura felt a light tugging sensation on her leg and noticed the tall grasses were brushing past and tugging at her clothes at an alarming rate. Moments after, she realized her and Tomoyo were racing towards the castle, where they would inevitably crash into the wall if they didn't slow down. However, as the two of them approached the wall, it disappeared into a blur of grey before turning into a large room.

Inside, there was a large bed surrounded by dark curtains in the center of the room. It was very ordinary looking and would grab much attention if it weren't for the strange blue-white light engulfing it. In front of the bed, completely safe from the glow, sat a small cradle. A young woman in white bedclothes rocked the cradle gently, humming a soothing lullaby. As the rocking slowed, the light grew more and more dim, until at last, the room was dark and silent. The woman in white slowly crept towards the bed thereafter and in what would be usually an inaudible whisper, told someone behind the curtain;
"She's asleep, Highness. Would you have me take her now or later?" A light shuffling responded to the question before the curtains were drawn and a young man in a dark robe stepped out to look on the baby. He scratched his bearded chin before picking the babe up and cradling her in a very paternal manner. The baby wriggled in the mans arms and silently fell back to sleep, nestling her head between the mans arm and chest. In the beam of moonlight, Sakura could tell the man was crying, his shoulders heaving up and down in silent sobs. The woman quickly stumbled to his side and placed a thin, bony hand on his shoulder.
"You know the princess is very ill, Highness. Her sickness is making the Queen ill as well, it is best to remove her from the household. Now, you know I've made arrangements with the Western Kingdom, and they are more than willing to take the young Princess in, even in her...unusual...state. This place is like poison for both your wife and the baby. If we fake the babes death, then surely the Queen will want to leave, have the place torn down, something. But with the baby here, the Lady will not relocate, especially with the off chance your pilgrimage would be stopped by those damned soldiers. Its for the best, King. You know it." the old woman chided, running a reassuring hand down his back in a circular motion. He nodded and handed the small baby to the woman.

"She's not sick...you know that. Someday, she'll be like her mother, if not greater. It is merely rare and dangerous that her abilities have come in infancy rather than in her maiden years. Take her away now, before my eyes dry of all tears." he said, kissing the baby affectionately on her forehead before wrapping her in a loving embrace and handing her back to the woman once again. He wiped is eyes and crawled back to the safety of his curtained bed as a small white light emerged from the baby and drifted to the crib, where a startling replica of the infant lay, eyes open and glassy, skin a pale shade of blue. In the morning, the young King and Queen would wake to find their precious baby dead, only it wouldn't really be their daughter. By then, the old woman and her ward would be far away, the baby settling into a plush velvet blanket in her new home, with her new parents. Images flashed before Sakuras eyes, visions of the couple mourning over a small grave, their castle coming down in a heap of rubble, the two of them going into seclusion under the image of mere common peasants. Images flashed by at the speed of light, until once again slowing down to allow Sakura to view a scene where the couple, older now, with small streaks of silver decorating their hair, offer themselves to the new rulers of their beloved Wonderland. The new monarchs, like the aged couple, must retreat into hiding as common people, but cannot allow the public to know about their escape. The couple agreed to undergo a series of spells that not only allowed them a younger vitality, but it distorted their images until they looked like the mirror image of the young King and Queen; who was pregnant with her first child, as the prior days news would have it. The couple saw it as a chance to once again take care of the large populous of people that looked to them for guidance, and start a family again. Sakura watched as the rejuvenated couple took their thrones and the scene sped up to a moment in time where the couple, looking a few years older than before, smiled warmly as a young boy ran around his fathers feet, tossing a ball of brightly colored yarn to a small black and tan kitten. Sakura smiled, knowing immediately that young, carefree lad was Syaoran as a child. She watched the images flicker forward to a point where his father lay on his deathbed, telling him stories about fantastical creatures and a young priestess and sorceress, lost somewhere in the realms, not knowing who she is, but who will someday amount to great things. The image distorted again, this time to a more gossamer picture. The Queen, again, older than the last time Sakura saw her, was sitting on a chair in a vast library, her expression vacant, her hands covered in blood. A young, impeccably beautiful woman stood before her, letting a teenage Syaoran drop to the cold floors, unconscious. She laughed and the words mother echoed in Sakuras ears. She gasped in recognition and shock, turning to look at Tomoyo with tear-filled eyes. The woman nodded, her violet eyes smoldering, confirming silently what Sakura already knew to be true; The Witch, the woman responsible for ruining thousands of lives including hers and Syaorans...was Syaorans own blood, her sister. The vision blurred and Sakura gasped as a strange feeling hit her in the stomach, a sensation she was not used to feeling. Her sight went black momentarily before opening her eyes to the dark, scented room, her eyes still inescapably locked with the shrouded woman's, the only change being a faint white light floating in front of her.

The woman broke their stare, allowing Sakura to glance at the small feather decorated in blue swirls floating in front of her. She carefully lifted a shaky hand up to it and watched it glide towards her chest, sinking inside her before the light went out. You must not tell him what you saw. Fate forbids it Sakura┘just like it forbids him to tell you what he will see. If destiny allows and goes as planned, you and he will find out in your own time what the other has seen. Remember this, Sakura...you MUST NOT tell him, under ANY condition. Tomoyo thick voice sounded in her head before everything returned to its normal silence. Sakura gasped, as if breathing for the first time in hours, and quickly looked to Syaoran, tears pouring down her face, seeming like they would never stop.

"Oh, Syaoran..." she sighed, before dropping to the ground, passing out from sheer exhaustion.


Woo!! Alright, so its been a while...I know, most of it because I live in a six family house, and its hard to get a moment on the computer to type...and I need a laptop!! Ugh! Anywho, here it is, I hope it was interesting! Leave a review n stuff, tell me your thoughts, opinions, constructive criticism, anything. Um, not so sure when the next chapter will be up, I've been working on a new story and debating whether or not I want to turn it into a fanfic or not. August is gonna be busy for me. I have the Breaking Dawn release party on the first and all day the 2nd, anyone who bothers me will most likely be bitten by a ravenous fan girl drooling over sparkly vampires (me!!), I've also got some things going on with this group I'm in...hopefully ill be getting my license, and of course, school starts back up and all that crap (Thank God I'm into my last year!!) Anywho, I hope everyone's summer is going fantastically and I'll try to get another chapter up when I can!
Um, so yea, until next time!
Ja Ne!,
Kirra