Chapter 13.

Night has fallen, as the moon beamed upon the small village. It looked quiet, almost scary, that a noisy village full of people selling in the market earlier had become a dark, hidden space of silence. Only the howling of wolves from afar filled the silence outside, almost giving a chill to the villagers inside their houses.

Fai gazed out of the window, his eyes fixed on one place. His eyes were full of worry, and his smile was almost not there that evening. He then let out a small, inaudible sigh.

"If you're so worried, then go out to find her." a harsh, almost angry voice greeted the mage from behind.

Fai turned his eyes away from the window, only to meet a frowning Kurogane standing not far from him. He and Syaoran had just entered the room, both looking at the blonde mage. Fai smiled, as a greeting for the two.

"Has the princess slept?" Fai asked, clearly changing the subject.
"Yes," Syaoran nodded, "she was fast asleep as soon as she lied down."
"Sakura looked tired!" Mokona said, jumping from Syaoran to the bed in the room.
"That's good then." The mage grinned. "Now, shouldn't we rest as well?"
"But Nazaiya isn't coming back…" Mokona said, putting a paw on its small mouth.

For a moment, Fai looked like he was frowning with worry. But just a moment after, they heard a loud commotion from outside. The inn echoed with little screams of females, and the sound of worried people. They quickly ran out of their room, and their eyes were full of shock seeing the sight before them.

Nazaiya climbed up the stairs to the hallway, her face reflected her exhaustion. Blood was dripping from the corner of her lips, and her hood was covering the upper part of her face. Her feet were wobbling as she walked, and her black cloak, though dull and dark, was soaked with wet blood. Blood that didn't come from someone else; blood that was from her wounds. And on her left hand, which she held loosely, was Sakura's feather, glowing perfectly on her bare hand.

Before anyone could move, Fai quickly ran up to her, catching Nazaiya in his arms as she collapsed, the hood hung off her head. She looked up tiredly, her pink orbs looked like they had been wet with tears. With trembling hands, she pushed the feather towards Fai, which he looked at it solemnly.

"I've used my powers again…" her voice shook as she speaks, as if pleading to be forgiven.

Ignoring the feather as he took it in one hand, Fai pulled Nazaiya closer to him and she was wrapped in his warm embrace, her ears inches away from his lips.

With a soft sigh, Fai whispered in her ear;
"Why can't you stop making me worry…"

Nazaiya couldn't quite hear what Fai had spoken, as her eyes felt heavy and she fell into a deep slumber.

Morning came, but everyone's face was grim. Though they were relieved that Nazaiya was fine, as the medical examiners had said about her, she was still in a deep sleep. Despite the feather returning back to the princess, they knew that she must had faced something awful, something strong, in order to get the feather.

They were all in the room Sakura was sleeping in, as Nazaiya was in the other room. They weren't allowed to visit the other girl as Julia told them not to, and they had to obey it. Just then, the door of the room was opened, and everyone looked at the motherly figure that had now closed the door. Her face was etched with worry, like a mother had towards a child.

"The feather," Julia spoke, "it was held by a leader of a large bandit group in this huge village. It was very brave of her to go and retrieve it alone, but doing it just before the night ends…. That was absurd. She put herself in danger, and above all, nobody went to look for her."

Everyone sensed how mad she was, but she was speaking calmly and rationally. A tinge of guilt washed through Fai's face, but he looked up with a forced smile.

"I was to be blamed, as I was late in looking for her last night." His voice was soft, full of regret.

Julia glanced tiredly at the mage, before breathing as if to calm herself down.

"The name of the leader is Ryoji, and he would be responsible for all of this. I will not need any of you to avenge her, so please leave him in our hands." Julia spoke, preparing to leave.
"Ryoji….?" A soft voice filled the silence, and they all turned towards the princess on the bed. She was awake, but her eyes were sleepy.
"Princess…" Syaoran muttered, looking at her.
"The other day at the lake," she said in a low voice, "when I was asleep… The other presence I felt, was someone with the name Ryoji. Nazaiya-san called out to him once or twice."

With that sentence alone, Fai's eyes met with Kurogane and Syaoran, probably thinking of the same thing.

"Sakura-chan, please rest. Maybe it was just a coincidence, that this Ryoji has the same name as that Ryoji." Fai ensured her, wanting her to go to sleep. Though they all know, there are no such things as coincidences in the world.

"Syaoran-kun," she gripped the Syaoran's sleeves gently. "Can you tell me what happened?"
Syaoran smiled and clasped her hand in his. "I will after you have rest enough, princess."

Julia turned towards the door, her hand at the doorknob as she spoke.

"Fai-san, I need to talk to you outside."

She then opened the door and got out of the room, walking through the hallway with a tired expression.

Fai glanced at the others momentarily, before excusing himself with a smile.

As the mage closed the door, Kurogane looked over at Syaoran.

"That mage knows things that we don't." He said calmly, and Syaoran nodded in agreement.

Fai followed the lady to a room, where it looks like a study room. Oddly, there were no books around. Only potions and a set of table in the small room, but Fai had nothing to complain about. Julia gestured the mage to sit and she did, and Fai sat with a smile.

Before Fai could say anything, Julia had beaten him to it.

"First of all, tell me what you know." Her tone was serious, as she looked straight into his eyes.

Fai's smile was gone for a second, before it was back on his face as he looked at the fortune-teller.

"I wonder what I should tell you…" he trailed off, as if thinking.
"About her heart." She replied strictly.
He narrowed his eyes, as if facing a threat. "Her heart was not real."
"Precisely." Julia said, as if satisfied. "It was an artificial heart, made from a blank piece of silk that had nothing on it. Only lies and confusion. She was unstable, she couldn't think straight. I'm sure she had shown some signs along the journey."

Fai was quiet, his expression was unreadable. It was uncharacteristic of him, but it's not like Julia had known him well enough.

"She would break." Julia continued. "She cried, and there are hatred, anger and sadness in her mind. She would smile, but her eyes are full of confusion with the things in front of her. In the end, she knows almost nothing of herself. So, do you?"
"Eh?" Fai tilted his head, caught off guard.
"Do you know about her more than she does herself?" she asked.
"But you know just as much too, Julia-san."
"Not quite. I only know the things her mother had told me, but you knew beyond that. You knew what would happen, and what could happen."

Again, Fai disregard the statement with a smile. Sighing, Julia asked him to leave with a polite voice. He slowly stood up and bowed, before heading to the door. Just as he was about to step out, Julia called out for him.

"If you do not wish to tell me, then I can only ask you for one thing." Julia spoke, her eyes are giving up on being stern.
"What could it be?"
"Please protect her. When the day comes when she would break, be there for her to bind her back in place. When she reaches out, take her hand. When she falls, pull her up. When she stumbles into something rough, save her."

Fai glanced back, his eyes shone with deep secrets.

"That was what I'm planning to do." As he said that, he stepped out and closed the door behind him, making his way to Nazaiya's room.

Julia's tears began to fall, her chest tightened with worry. "I could only do this much for you, child…"

To be continued…