Eh, the last few chapters have been kinda dodgy. Oh well-better luck next time, i guess.

Gabriel held up the note. It was addressed to Sora.

"What does it say?" Yuui asked.

Gabriel opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. "Dearest Sora,
So nice to know that you aren't dead. If you ever want to see your family again, you'll be familiar with the place where you were held captive. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again shortly.
Kind regards, Aryanna." Gabriel read it and shrugged. "Sorry, you'll have to ask her."

The blonde sighed. "I'll take the letter to her."

Gabriel handed it over and Yuui left. The ranger walked over to Syaoron who was still calming Rena and sighed. "So what are we going to do?" he asked the prince.

Syaoron sighed. Leadership fell on him now that his brother was gone and Sora was in no fit shape to lead. "Find or wake the others and tell them to come to the council hall immediately." He said. "We don't have time to wait."

Rena's breathing finally calmed and she buried her face in her husband's chest, unable to think straight. She wanted her family back and she wanted them back now.

"It will be ok." he said softly, "Let me take you some place else…"

He helped her up, unable to lift her due to his injured shoulder, and walked with his other arm around her waist to keep her stable.

...

Sora was sitting in the stables with Nix, running her fingers through her mane when Yuui finally found her. "Sora?"

"It's ok. I'm not going to punch anything now." She said quietly.

"I disagree. I know you." He said, sitting down beside her.

She sighed, "Where's Rika?" she asked.

"With Eva and Seraphina, asleep."

"Good, I don't want her to know what's happening." Sora murmured.

Yuui released a small sigh and they sat in silence.

"You didn't come here just to sit with me." She said dully. "There's a council meeting, I'm sure."

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"It's what my youngest brother would do." Sora replied with a shrug.

Yuui pondered for a moment, and then held out the letter. "It's from Aryanna. You're our only clue."

Sora took it and read the letter and she froze as it brought back a rush of unpleasant memories; the memories of her son's murder and the memories of her torture. She shoved the letter back into his chest and turned away. "No, I can't help."

"Sora-"

"Sorry."

She stood and walked out, heading back inside and up towards the council hall. Yuui followed; he didn't understand why she didn't tell the truth. Syaoran and Sakura could be in danger, and so could Dimitri!

She entered the hall and he followed, finding she was right about the meeting, and rolled his eyes.

They were discussing what to do to get the family back, and Sora's footsteps slowed as she heard the conversations.

"If we lose the prince we still have Princess Rika to take the throne. Everyone needs to rest-"

Angered, Sora grabbed Anne mid sentence. "How dare you even think of dismissing the rescue of Dimitri and his parents. My daughter will not be taking the throne-ever!" Sora hissed.

"That wasn't what I meant…"

"It certainly sounded like it. Now, we will be getting that family back-alive."

Sora took a seat and Syaoron looked to her, "Did you read the letter from Aryanna?" he asked.

"Yes." Sora answered.

"So, do you know where she's taken them?"

Sora shrugged, "Aryanna's just antagonising us. I'm afraid not."

Syaoron frowned up her words. "You're lying."

"Excuse me?" Sora laughed.

"You heard me. You can tell us the truth and we can get our brother and his family back quickly, or we can sit around arguing all night about who's lying. Tell the truth Sora, I know that you know where they are." He snapped.

Sora glared at him angrily. "On one condition." She growled.

He rolled his eyes, "What?"

"I want everyone out, with the exception of these few people." She began listing names, and those were called stayed. Everyone else was told to leave. She was left in the room with Gabriel, who always stood against the wall, her three men, Kurogane, Yuui, Sid and Syaoron.

"Do you have a map?" Sora asked slightly sarcastically.

Gabriel tossed one onto the table and she unrolled it. She pulled a fountain pen from her belt and found the place she was looking for on the map. "Oh lucky us, we're closer than I originally thought." She muttered under her breath as she drew a circle around the city Gandella. "There's your answer. Happy?" she asked as she dropped the pen on the table.

"Why us though?"

"Because you're the crew that's going to go get them." She replied simply. "I don't have a choice in this matter, and I really don't want to. But life sucks, doesn't it?"

"Fine, let's go."

Sakura woke to the feeling of damp, mossy bricks beneath her and the cold metal chains against her skin. Her hands were held loosely above her head and she was pretty sure she had a concussion. Her vision focused and her eyes landed on Syaoran, who was sitting across form her. He was bleeding from a wound in his side and looked to be in a lot of agony. She tried to move in a vain attempt to get to him, but she was restrained, as was he. His amber eyes cracked open and he looked over.

"Sakura, don't…" he managed to whisper.

"You're hurt!" she cried.

"I'll be ok… She has Dimitri…"

Sakura froze. "Wh…what do we do…?"

Suddenly the door opened and a young girl walked in. She wore a black garment but no shoes, and in her hands she held medical equipment. Sakura noticed her to be one of the tortured slaves under Aryanna's control, and she watched as she set her things down beside Syaoran. She began cleaning the wound and then applied an ointment to stop infection before stitching it up, and then she dressed it and left.

Syaoran took the chance to examine his chains and noticed something a little odd.

"Syaoran?" Sakura called out his name.

"Just a moment."

He pulled hard on his chains as he noticed the large crack in one of the links, and as it got larger, he did so again. Sakura watched, baffled as to what he was doing, until the chain link broke. He checked to make sure he could use magic, and smiled. "Thought so." He murmured.

Sakura looked at him with confusion and disbelief.

"Sakura, I need you to listen to me. I think Aryanna will most likely wait until our breaking point-if we can make her believe that we are already there, she'll likely bring Dimitri to us that much faster." He explained, his pain showing clearly on his face.

She waited for a moment as what he was saying finally sunk in. "I have to scream even if I don't want to…" she whispered.

He looked at her apologetically-he didn't want it any more than she, but if it would get their son back to their arms…

"I trust you…" she whispered.

He nodded and wrapped his hand around the broken part of the chain, hiding what he had done, and he prayed that Dimitri was unharmed.

Aryanna looked down at the small child that lay staring back up at her with his emerald green eyes. He was silent, hadn't let out a single cry since being parted from his mothers arms, and it disturbed her. She wondered about him as she circled his cradle, trying to figure out why he was so silent.

"What is it about you?" she muttered to herself, irritated.

There was something strange about Dimitri. Most babies cried when they wanted their mother. Why hadn't Dimitri cried for his mother?

She looked out the window; dawn was breaking and she was sure that Sora would be heading her way soon, and she wouldn't be alone.

Rika tugged on Seraphina's sleeve and the teenager looked to her, giving the child her attention. "What is it?" she asked.

"Where's mummy and daddy?" she asked sadly.

Seraphina sighed and picked her up, pulling her into her lap.

"Your mum and dad have gone on an important trip with prince Syaoron and a couple of others." She replied.

"Why?" Rika asked sadly.

"Because something bad happened to Queen Sakura and his highness."

"Will they be ok?" Rika asked.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Seraphina smiled.

Rika nodded but didn't leave Seraphina's lap for a while, seeking comfort in the young woman's embrace.

Sora sighed as they walked through the empty city. She kicked aside a stone that rolled until it hit a doll that lay discarded in the streets, parted from some poor child.

"What happened here?" Sid asked.

"The plague. Slavery. Anything bad." Felix replied with a shrug.

"Great." Sid rolled his eyes, and continued down the road.

"Sora, what way are we going?" Syaoron asked.

"This way." She said, turning down a dark alleyway that stank. They weaved their way through the strange labyrinth-like streets until they came to the centre of the city.

"A pyramid?" Sid muttered.

"Yeah." Sora replied.

"Half of the wall over here has been blown out." Syaoron said.

"I did that when I blew myself out five and a half years ago." Sora replied.

"Come on, we can enter through here." She said, entering through the large hole.

"Are you sure?" Gabriel asked sceptically.

"She'll have built in defences, but we can just blow them up with magic." Sora shrugged.

Felix looked to Isaac who also shrugged, and they continued on behind Sora who led the way.

Sakura screamed as hot wax was poured over her skin, followed by flame. They healed her scarred and burned, blistering back while she cried out in pain, begging them to stop.

"Please, stop…" she begged as they healed her back using healing magic.

Syaoran couldn't stand her cries-it was unbearable. His hands were wrapped loosely around his chains, hiding the damage he had done earlier. He was completely free of restraints despite appearances, and he was in unbearable pain but he still dealt with it as he knew he needed to wait for his window of opportunity.

They left and slammed the door shut. Sakura sobbed, unable to take any more pain. "I can't do this…" She whispered.

The door swung open to reveal Aryanna in a black silk dress, holding Dimitri in her arms. "I see you two are finally at breaking point." She smiled sweetly.

Sakura felt relief to see that her son was ok. He was just fine.

Syaoran, seeing Aryanna, took his chance. He grabbed the broken length of chain beside him and leapt towards her, wrapping it tightly around her throat. Aryanna was so surprised by the sudden turn of events that she didn't have time to react.

"You're going to put Dimitri down carefully, and you won't try anything. Don't forget metal conducts electricity." He hissed.

Slowly, they lowered to the ground and Aryanna placed Dimitri down gently. He ordered her to back away and she laughed.

"What are you going to do-kill me?"

"Oh yes. But not by choking you. I'm sure burning you alive in front of everyone you've caused suffering for will be perfect. For now I'm just going to knock you out." He snarled.

Syaoran tightened the chain around her neck until she finally lost consciousness, and then he quickly bound Aryanna's wrists and ankles just to be safe. He picked up his son and walked over to Sakura, who was completely exhausted and drained of energy, and helped her out of her bonds. Once she was free she took her son into her arms and held him close to her chest as she sobbed. Syaoran sat beside her, kicking away the chains, and rested his head against hers. He was sore from what he had been put through, with the numerous breaks in his ribs and the harsh burns. He was tired and desperately needed sleep, as did Sakura, and he hoped that someone, maybe someone, would come for them.

Sora had parted from the group and was running down the corridor in hopes of finding her brother and sister-in-law when she came face-to-face with an old nemesis.

"Cleis…" she hissed.

The man who stood before her was tall with broad shoulders and a heavy build. He smiled cruelly, "It's so nice to see you again." He greeted.

"Are you the one who injured my brother?" Sora demanded.

"How did you know?" Cleis asked.

"You're a bastard and I know you play on fear." She hissed.

He laughed. "Well then, shall we get this over with then?"

Sora drew her sword and lunged towards him, clashing swords with Cleis.

Sid ran quickly down the corridor followed by Yuui, cutting down several opponents who had tried to oppose him on the way, and noticed the open door down towards the end. He could sense his cousin's aura along with Sakura's and hurried along, worried about them-were they alright?

He heard the footsteps of Sora behind him and felt relief to know that she was fine.

Syaoran had closed his eyes briefly, unable to combat the tiredness he felt, but opened them again as he heard voices.

"They're down here!"

He looked up to see the worried face of his cousin, quickly followed by his sister and Yuui. Sora quickly rushed over to them, hugging her brother out of relief. The blonde made his way over to tend to their injuries, and Sora was distracted by the sound of movement behind her. She turned her head sharply, finding Aryanna in the corner looking to be in pain. Infuriated, she stood and walked over, but Aryanna's eyes weren't fixed on Sora; she was watching the young family together as Sakura held her son and Syaoran watched gently while his arm was bandaged by the doctor. Sora unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Aryanna's face. Syaoran immediately looked up.

"Sora don't!" he shouted.

"She needs to die."

"And she will, but don't forget that there are countless others whom she has hurt, and they all deserve to see her go."

How long had she been waiting for this moment, only to throw it away? Her hand shook with anger, and she screamed. Aryanna shut her eyes as she saw a flash of silver, but opened them again when she heard the sound of steel hitting the floor. Sora was glaring at her furiously, "Rest assured, you will burn." She hissed, and walked back over to Sakura to sit with her.

Gabriel and the others arrived shortly after with only a few minor injuries to their arms and upper body. Sakura was asleep by the time they arrived and was carried out by Sora; Syaoran could walk on his own and was fine carrying Dimitri, while Aryanna was forced to walk with Felix and Gabriel escorting her. As she walked out, she was walked past all of the dead bodies of her last remaining men, including Cleis. No one would be coming to save her.

Rena walked down the halls, unable to find anyone she knew, and bumped into Chii. The blonde, knowing of the situation at hand, smiled comfortingly. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"They've gone, haven't they…? To get Sakura and Syaoran…?"

"Yes. Hopefully they'll be back by tonight." Chii replied. "Rika's quite unhappy. She doesn't like being parted from both of her parents at once, and she misses Sakura."

"I'm not surprised. She's so young." Rena murmured.

"Perhaps you could go and sit with her for a while?" Chii suggested. "Seraphina's very tired."

"Sure. Where is she?"

"She's hiding in the stables." Chii replied with an amused giggle.

Rena rolled her eyes and headed down to the stables; she found Seraphina muttering curses under her breath as she sat back against one of the wooden stable doors, and she placed her hand on the young girl's shoulder. "I'll take it from here." Rena smiled.

Seraphina gave her a grateful look and disappeared out of the stables, and Rena sighed. "Rika, where are you?" she called out.

A few moments later she felt something putrid and horrid smelling hit her in the side. She cringed and turned her head to see Rika sitting in one of the stables on her own, her hands and dress covered in horse manure.

"Children…" Rena muttered to herself as she walked over.

She sat down, ignoring what Rika had done, and pulled her into her lap.

"What's wrong, mischief?" she asked. Rika shrugged her shoulders and Rena smiled. "Do you miss mum?"

Rika nodded timidly and Rena laughed. "Then all you need to do is say so; none of us are going to scold you for it, so you don't need to go throwing horse crap around-alright?"

Rika pouted, a guilty look on her face.

"Don't worry, they'll be back tonight, I'm sure of it." Rena said. "But, you need a bath."

"What?"

"Do you really want your parents to see you covered in that?" Rena asked.

"I don't want one…"

Rena rolled her eyes and grabbed the bucket of cold water beside her and dumped it over Rika's head. She shrieked and Rena stood, picking her up.

"You can have one with me. No excuses." Rena smiled as she carried her inside.

"You're mean!"

"Yep, and you threw horse poo at me darling; I believe we're even."

Rika thought about it for a moment and shrugged. She couldn't argue against that.

Chii had a bath drawn for them and had added a few bath oils to the water for the girls. Rena was grateful she had done so and breathed in the scent of lavender and vanilla as she relaxed into the water. Rika was busy scrubbing her hands clean outside the tub and over another bucket of warm water. She finished and climbed into the tub with Rena, who washed her hair thoroughly with soap.

"There, all clean." Rena said once she was done.

"Can I get out now?" Rika complained.

"Gee, you're fussy. Fine, let's get out." Rena rolled her eyes.

Rika climbed out and Rena got out after her, wrapping herself in a bathrobe while she dried Rika off. She dressed the child in a pale blue dress with long sleeves and a deep green sash around her waist, tying it in a neat little bow to the side. "There you go." Rena smiled, and dressed herself in a navy blue gown similar to Rika's, and then walked out with her. It was late afternoon, and she hoped that everyone was alright and would make it back safely.

Sakura was still sore from the torture they had put her through and the burns weren't completely healed yet. Her skin was still red and raw with scarring, but the salve that Yuui placed over it to serve as a temporary bandage until he could look at it properly helped to soothe the pain.

Syaoran sat beside her during their small break, his hand linked through hers. Sora was looking after Dimitri for a while to give the two some rest, and the couple watched her tiredly. She had such a bright smile on her face that it was a little difficult to believe that she held so much anger in her heart. Syaoran squeezed Sakura's hand and she looked to him, worried about him.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"I'm sorry." He apologised. "I could have stopped them from hurting you."

"All that maters is that Dimitri is safe; I'm not the only one that was hurt in there… You were hurt too…" Sakura replied gently as she placed her hand over his injured one.

"But…"

"Don't beat yourself up about it. It will just make things worse." She pleaded.

He rested his head against hers and watched as the others gathered their things, getting ready to leave. Sakura was assisted by Gabriel and was soon followed by Syaoran; Sora handed Sakura her son and she thanked her for her help. Sora smiled back cheerfully and headed off, ignoring their prisoner, and climbed up onto the back of her horse.

Syaoran looked over to his brother who was discussing something with Sid and Yuui, and sighed.

"Let's go." Sora called out.

They began to head out, arriving back at Forte Emerald by sunset.