The following evening they entered a city, marched through the streets while the residents looked on impassively. They were taken to a large warehouse, a place where many other slaves were also kept. Large cages lined the walls, each one set aside for each group of slaves. When they were all safely locked up in one of the large cells Torren Grimnose addressed them with a smile.

"Tomorrow might well be your last day with us. It's our first stop on the road, and I'm sure I'll be able to find you some nice new owners." He laughed then and left them.

There was crying that night, and a lot of it. It was as if the last dregs of resistance and hope bled from those around them, leaving nothing but despair in its place. They had been in the dubious care of the slavers for far longer than Syaoran, Sakura and Fai, but even though they had been resigned to their fates before, it was nothing compared to the utter hopelessness that hung over them now.

Everyone wanted to be saved.

Fai understood that better than anyone.

They did not speak that night, it felt wrong offer reassurances, or to tell stories. Syaoran and Sakura huddled together at the back of the cage, he holding her close, his eyes unfocused as he tried to think of a what out of this situation, she watching the other slaves, her heart aching for them, that they had no one to offer them comfort as Syaoran did for her. Fai allowed his thoughts to wander backwards and to the tower, and he decided that it was far better to be here. At least here there was a much better chance of escaping at a later date.

He was the hero of his own story now. Though he was without a princess, or suitable maiden to save; but that would come with time he was sure. He was the Hero, the brave knight, the quick witted saviour. Because Hero's did not need rescuing, they could save themselves, and Fai had waited for far to long for someone to save him.

Morning came quickly.

The slavers arrived early, before the sun was fully over the horizon, opening the gate to the cage and striding inside. Men on a mission it seemed. Torren Grimnose stood outside as he men walked up to various slaves, mostly women, and had them stand up. Torren Grimnose would either shake his head or nod; when he nodded, the slaves were unshackled and taken from the cage. Fai was one of the few men who were pulled to his feet, and the only one who got the nod. When he was unshackled, he managed to pull away from the slavers for just long enough to press Mokona into Sakura's arms and whispered. "Take care of her." And he smiled as the slavers pulled him out of the cage.

He and the four women who had been chosen were shackled to another chain and led from the holding area. Fai limping a little as he pushed himself to keep up with the quick walk from the warehouse to a smaller building a number of streets away. Once inside the building he was unshackled and placed in an individual cage, there were other cages, some already filled with slaves from other slavers, some waiting for new residents. Fai noticed that each person here was striking in some way; be it their looks, their bodies, unusual eye or hair colour, each person stood out from the others.

"Count yourself lucky boy." Torren Grimnose grinned. "This is the private auction. Only the richest people buy from here." He chuckled suddenly, as if amused by something. "Or maybe you should count yourself unlucky; after all the rich buy for reasons other than labour."

Fai shuddered a little at what was implied, and found himself shrinking back into the cage before he could stop himself.

Torren Grimnose laughed. "Now smile and look pretty, boy. You're going to make me a tidy fortune today." Then the man turned and left the building, laughing cruelly all the way out. Fai sat still for a long time after that and considered his options nervously, unhappy when he realised they were far fewer than he would have liked.

Kurogane was a man on a mission, one of great import, as issued by the exalted Dream-seer herself. To be entirely honest this was not the type of mission one such as himself should be carrying out, and he had tried to say as much to the Dream-seer at the time, but she would have none of his excuses. Excuses she called them! Perfectly reasonable points that calmly and justifiably explained why he should not be sent to do this, and she called them excuses! Well, that would be the last time he tried to do anything 'reasonably' ever again.

Kurogane was, you see, a knight; one trained from youth to protect the Dream-seer, a rare and much coveted position in the land of Nihon, and one he sometimes wished he could give up, what with all the grief he took on a daily basis about the way in which he protected the current Dream-seer. And now he was reduced to a messenger boy, sent to pick up 'Something very important Kurogane, for yourself as well as for me'. If it were not for the fact that he was so damn loyal, and so bound by his own honour he would have left her ridicules and manipulative service years ago.

He strode purposefully through the street of Shimada, intending to get this chore finished with as soon as possible so that he could return to his real duties. It was early still, so instead of going into the auction square, where, later in the day, the slavers would model their newest slaves to their buyers, he went straight to the warehouses.

He knew of this area well, he had narrowly avoided a fate similar as a child when he parents had been killed. Had it not been for the Dream-seer Knights taking him in, he could well have become one of the ragged souls in the fields around the city. He did not like this place, and he did not like the practice of slavery; but there was little he could do, the King was not opposed to the trade, and the Dream-seer held only so much power in the land.

He entered the slave warehouse, ignoring the sudden flocking of slavers around him. He knew that when a man came to the warehouse instead of the auction Slavers knew they would get more money from them. This was the reason e had chosen to come now and not later, he had a much better chance of picking up the ones the Dream-seer wanted now. He made the round of the cages, inspecting the downtrodden people in each one, hardening his heart at the sight of them. He did not have enough money to free all of them, and there was no other way to save them from their fates without being arrested.

At long last he spotted the two the Dream-seer had sent him to get. The slimly little maggot of a man who had brought these slaves in could obviously smell a sale and sidled up beside him. "Seen something you like sir?" he asked.

Kurogane pointed at the two at the back of the cage, a boy and girl, huddled together, slightly removed from the rest of the slaves in the cage. "Them." He said, just s that there would be no misunderstanding.

The slaver made a small surprised noise, and Kurogane looked at him, eyes narrowed. The man was going to try and come up with a reason to keep the girl, it was written plainly on his face. It disgusted Kurogane to see a man such as this lusting over a child.

"8000 gold for the both of them, cash in hand, upfront." Kurogane said before the slaver could speak.

"8000..." the slaver squeaked.

Kurogane eyes him evenly. "You think you can make more at the auction?" he asked, knowing the answer was no. The most he would get for the boy at auction would be 2000, at the very best, and 8000 gold was impossible to turn down for a man such as this, no matter how much lust he had for the girl.

The deal was struck quickly, money changed hands and Kurogane waited in undisguised impatience for the slaver to retrieve the two children from the cage. The two were silent, hands clasped tightly; as if afraid he would rip them apart. He took the key to their shackles and gripped the end of the short chain they were bound too, knowing better than to free them here. He did not acknowledge them or the slavers as he left the warehouse. Waiting until they were out of the city and on the road to the Dream-seer.

The boy looked at him in confused suspicion when he removed their shackles outside of the city, but Kurogane ignored it, they boy had reason to e suspicious after all. "My name is Kurogane, Knight Protector to the Dream-seer. She has request I bring you before her."

The children looked at him, the girl hugging some stuffed toy to her chest as she regarded him carefully.

"I am Sakura, Priestess of the Healing order of Clow." She said.

"Priestess!" the boy hissed, worried.

"It's ok Syaoran, he doesn't seem like any of the slavers, and he's telling the truth." She said, and Kurogane was surprised to see the by relax a little and nod, taking her word for it.

"Well, great, now we've decided I'm not lying let's get moving." He said, turning to continue walking down the road.

"What about Fai!"

That was a new voice; he turned back and blinked in surprise to see the stuffed to the girl had been holding bouncing on the path, waving short stubby arms frantically. "What is that?" he found himself asking.

The stuffed toy turned to him and stopped bouncing and said officiously. "Mokona is Mokona, and we have to go get Fai!"

Kurogane shook his head, more in resigned disbelief that the stuffed toy was talking than anything else. He had known today was going to be a strange one; it was just his luck. "I don't know who this 'Fai' is, but they're going to have to wait until after we see the Dream-seer."

"But Fai might be lost by then!" Mokona cried.

Kurogane sighed. "He wasn't in the cell with you was he?" he asked.

"No Sir Kurogane, he was taken out very early this morning." Sakura said.

Kurogane nodded, he had expected as much. "In that case he's probably been sold already. You won't find him. Your best bet would be to ask the Dream-seer." He said, which was true, and if it got them to come with him to see the woman already, he was happy to use it to his advantage.

"Can't you sense him Mokona?" Syaoran asked suddenly.

Mokona shook her head sadly. "Mokona can only sense the hearts desires, and no one here wants to find him with all their heart..." she trailed off tearfully. Sakura lifted her gently and tried to sooth her, feeling guilty, though she knew, realistically there was no reason to feel that way.

"Then we'll ask the Dream-seer." Syaoran said.

Kurogane bit back a sound of annoyance and waited impatiently for them to make up their minds, glad when they finally made a move to follow him. As they made their way down the long road to the Dream-seer's Temple, he was surprised to find himself wondering who this Fai was, and why the children and the stuffed toy were so fired up to get him back.

Well... I got distracted... I traded in some old games I don't play often for Star ocean, and the characters of the game just gripped me, you know... Especially Faize and Lymle, who in a twisted sort of a fashion, reminded me of Fai and Kurogane... I never claimed it made sense! But because of that I have been completely unable to put my 'Fairytale' head on. I wrote this in dribs and drabs in-between playing Star Ocean (I swear I can barely put the controller down I want to reach the end so bad), so if it's a little jumpy and less like my other chapters I apologise, I did try, but like I said, distracted...

Fai in this became a little delusional I think... Hero? Him? I'm sorry, but as much as I love Fai, and I love him very, very much, He is definitely not a hero. As strong as he wants to be, or pretends to be, he needs to be saved, he jut has that vibe you know? And Kurogane puts in an appearance at long last! Ten whole chapters and 30 pages it took me to get him in there! Well, at any rate, no more babbling from me! I hope you enjoyed enough to want to review!