Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or any related properties. They are a product of Clamp and associates.
TRIGGER WARNING: This is a reminder that this story is rated teen for suggestive but not explicitly descriptive content. This content may include scenes of sexual abuse and child abuse, nudity, murder ect… Don't forget the rating system is there for a reason.
Speech"
'Thoughts'
Seen Change…
Archangel
Chapter 20: Theron
Sakura and Syaoran listen carefully as Zarola reflects on her past. She and her dragon partner Theron were now the only living witnesses to the events that took place in these isolated mountains. Zarola closed her eyes letting her darkest memories return to her.
"I always obeyed my father's wishes. I was the good daughter who did what she was told. Only once did I ever go against his wishes and it was the worse decision of my life."
It began 33 Years Prior….
Zarola was a mage of the mountains, accompanied by her brother she flew low across the desolate plains of the outlands atop the back of his young Roc which was about the size of a large horse.
They followed the shallow river making sure to keep their distance from the slum like settlements where the outcasts' lived. The flew deeper into these barren lands and headed for the next range of mountains that jetted up out of the wastelands, known as The Beast Mountains. It was rare for anyone who was not banished to come near these mountains or the dangerous creatures that made their nest here.
The Beast Mountains were well past the Clow boarder and the only known breeding ground for both Rocs and Dragons. Any practical mage would tell you to stay away from the breeding grounds of magical creatures, especially magical creatures of such size and temper. Unless of course you wanted to get killed, or perhaps steal an egg.
Both Rocs and dragons were once thought to be impossible for a mage to bond with due to their overwhelming magic and strength but recently the clan had learned how to do it. The trick was to find the creature's egg and be present when it hatched. Magical bonding could occur if the creature was young and underdeveloped. Now that the nesting grounds had been confirmed, Zarola's father had plans to make these rare and dangerous magical creatures a staple among their clan.
The thought of taming such creatures in number appealed greatly to the head of the Cheng Clan. Rocs were fierce hunters with keen eyesight, perfect for surveying the vast lands near the border. Dragons had high levels of intelligence, could fly, speak, and spew flames hotter than any human magic could produce. Bonded rocs and dragons did not grow as big or live as long as their wild counterparts, but they were big enough to ride and made excellent partners. Zarola was eager to acquire one for herself and please her father.
The youngest of 10 siblings and the only girl, Zarola struggled to match her older brothers in magic and was no master in any form of combat. In fact, as her father's only daughter, he seemed to think she was only good for marriage. At least he was pleased with how beautiful she had grown up to be. Long raven hair trailed down her back and paired with rich blue eyes that caught the attention of all who looked at her. With her eighteenth birthday now passed, she would soon be sent off to marry as part of an alliance pact. Her father and the clan elders were still making and taking offers so she did not yet know whom her husband would be or where she would end up living. She didn't really mind, or so she told herself, she was eager to leave her boring isolated hometown and see the world. But before she left, she wanted to succeed at something her family could be proud of, if only to show her father she wasn't a complete failure as a mage or a daughter. So after a lot of begging her oldest brother, the only one she really got along with, agreed to help her collect a rare egg to bond with.
"Zarola, are we getting closer?" Her brother asked as his Roc closed in on the forest floor below.
Zarola lifted a hand mirror focused her magic within it. An image of the nesting grounds they searched for appeared. Then it suddenly raced away at incredible speeds until the image settled on herself looking into the mirror.
"The direction hasn't changed we are close."
Suddenly without command the roc they rode upon dove down into the shelter of the trees. He landed on a think treetop puffing his chest out and gesturing in the direction they were traveling, but the two mages could see nothing through the dense trees. Zarola's brother placed his hand on the back of the roc and gripped its feathers tight. Both his eyes and the roc's eyes glowed yellow with his magic. Zarola knew her brother was now seeing what his roc was seeing and judging from his expression it was not good.
"Basalisk, getting hunted down by a floc of Roc's that make my partner Raptor here, look like a chick. There are a few dragons squatting on the mountains watching the hunt like a spectacle. Way too many in too small a territory, there have to be nests near here."
Leaving Raptor behind the two cloaked mages slipped silently out of the brush and into the passes of the mountains. The two made their way through the passes for several hours until they came upon an area that opened to the sky. The growls and roars of the mountain's magical creatures carried through the open air. In the corner surrounded by bones and piles of brush was a large speckled egg about the size of a large watermelon. The two siblings jogged over to the egg keeping an eye on the sky in case the mother should return. Zarola crouched down next to the egg staring at it in wonder.
"I can't believe it was this easy to find one."
She reached out her hand and found the egg to be almost too hot, like it had come out of a boiling pot.
"Roc or dragon?"
"Dragon" her brother answered. "You can tell by the pattern and the amount of heat it gives off."
A deep roaring growl shook the cavern as the two turned back to look up at the sky. Nothing came down but whatever made the noise was close.
"Let's go, we need to get out of here fast."
The two used a net they had with them to wrap and carry the egg in a sling between them. They made their way back along the passes until they were confident they were far enough away from the nesting ground that it was safe to take a break. While her brother took a drink of water Zarola sat next to the egg and focused her magic to will her consciousness into the Astral Plain. Foresight was a specialty of the Clan and the one area of magic Zarola had any confidence in. As she opened her eyes, before her on the path of fate, stood the egg. She reached her hand out to touch the egg expecting to get an idea of how long it would be until it hatched and what the dragon would eventually look like.
But the second she made contact her vison became disorienting. Shadows shot past her screaming and wailing as if in pain. As she backed away from the turmoil, she heard the voice of a crying child. She turned to find an emaciated looking child in a tattered looking rag of a dress standing behind her. She had long poorly kept black hair that fell around her legs and bunched at her feet in matted clumps. The girl looked up with inhumanly red eyes. The strange looking child unnerved Zarola and she began to back away when the girl lifted her pail bony hand as if reaching to her.
"Momma"
Unbearable confusion and pain shot through Zarola's body and she was suddenly falling from the Astral Plain back to waking world. Zarola awoke with her body still feeling the same pain from within her vison. She looked around and saw the same shadows from her vison racing around the cave along the floor, ceiling, and walls. But instead of screaming the shadows were laughing as they encircled her and her brother.
Zarola's brother focused his magic to strike at the strange shadows but they suddenly condensed into a single form right behind where he stood. This form bit down on her brother's throat tearing it out leaving Zarola so terrified she could not even muster a scream as she watched her brother's nearly decapitated body fall to the ground. Before the body completed his fall, the figure disappeared from her sight only to reappear at her side. In one swift motion it wrapped arms around her small frame with long pointed nails digging into her throat. The creature smelled her hair and she cringed as she felt it lick the back of her exposed neck.
"What luck, that a bountiful meal would come to me."
Frozen in place she could only cry silently and tremble as she waited for her inevitable end. He moved his hand from her neck to her mouth to stifle the scream she unleashed when his fanged teeth bit down between her neck and shoulder. She felt her consciousness slip away along with the blood the creature drank from beneath her skin.
Zarola would never know how long she was passed out or how far the creature had taken her from where she was abducted. But she remembered the array of emotions she felt when she awoke. Relief that she was alive after thinking she was about to die, coupled with exhaustion from the creature's attack that drained both her blood and her magic. Then fear when she realized the creature had taken her somewhere unknown away from any chance of help or rescue.
She didn't dare to think of her beloved brother as she lifted her weakened body from the ground. She looked around and noticed she was deep within a cave. There was no natural light and the air was humid with a rancid odor of decay. Dozens of scattered lanterns filled with some kind of fluorescent moss filled the cave with an eerie green glow illuminating what she could only assume was the creature's den.
The space was filled with a hodgepodge of odd items, pottery, plates, tools, toys, and other random objects scattered around as if the creature had been collecting them. There were also human bones piled next to chains that were bolted down to the ground below. Along the dirt wall by the chains were trails of lines in sets of five, a sign of human hands clawing desperately at the walls. The rancid smell of the cave came from the human blood and waist, covering the ground around the bones.
Checking her body for injury she noticed her boots and leggings were gone. Her hand reached to her neck where she could feel the puncture wounds from the bite which had dried blood caking the area. Panic began to consume her as she tried and failed to stand, she was anemic from the blood loss. She tried again this time pulling herself to her feet and began heading to the mouth of the cave desperate to get away before the creature came back. Her short steps made her dizzy and nauseous, but she ignored the bile now rising in her throat made, worse from the smell around her. She continued her unsteady walk to the cave entrance ignoring whatever unsettling substances she was dragging her bare feet across.
"Awake already, you are stronger than you look."
Startled she turned to see the creature mostly obscured by shadows leaning on a box. Though she still struggled to see its features it was chewing meat off the bone of what was obviously a human arm. Fear overcame fatigue, as she tried to run from the cave with the last of her strength. Her progress all but stopped when she felt something soft but scratchy wrapping around her legs causing her to fall. She could do nothing but feebly claw the ground as she was dragged back into the darkness. The scratchy substance, she now realized was hair, continued to wrap around her legs and arms lifting her up and around until she was face to face with the monster that killed her brother.
It was unlike anything she has seen before. It looked almost human if not for its red eyes and almost white looking skin. Its long black hair moved like extra limbs while its real arms were crossed in front of it. It smiled with an amused look in its eye and sharp fangs protruding from its top row of teeth past its bottom lips. Its frame was tall and thin but muscular. It wore no clothing save a long cloth tied around its waist falling just above its knees. She flinched when it reached out and ran its fingers in her hair lifting strands just beneath its nose to sniff. He seemed pleased with the smell.
"I must say you are a far superior specimen then I normally find. I assume you are from the other side of the split mountain, over the human boarder."
'It speaks.' The realization caught Zarola by surprise and gave her a sliver of hope. If it was smart enough to speak then maybe it could be reasoned with.
"Who are you?" she asked both to bide herself time and out of genuine curiosity.
"Who am I? That is a good question human. I am who I have always been. I have been here in this place for as long as I can remember. I know no other like myself, the closest in appearance to myself are you humans but I know I am not one of you. After all I live on human flesh and blood which I know you humans do not do. Still even though you are my food I find myself fascinated by your species and it amuses me to past the time studying the habits of my sustenance. That is why I like to collect specimens from time to time. I only need to feed every few weeks so I like to keep a few and play with them for a time."
And just like that, her sliver of hope faded. "You brought me here just to kill me later?"
"Oh no no no… please don't think that. You are much more important than a toy or food." It held her by her shoulders and looked as if it was sincerely concerned about her jumping to the wrong conclusion.
"You are the one I have been waiting for."
It took its hands off her shoulders. She noticed its fingernails were long and sharp just like they had been when it grabbed her neck.
"I brought you here because I have become concerned with the fact that I am the only one of my kind. I have searched these mountains, but I have found no other creature like myself. I want to change that, so I began watching other animals and humans trying to figure out how they make more of themselves. I realized that there are two different types of every species. You humans call it male and female or man and woman. In humans the male plants his seed inside and the woman grows the new human inside herself for a time before releasing it. Much more efficient then egg laying creatures, it's no wonder you were trying to steal from them."
It motioned to the dragon egg in the corner the same one she had been trying to steal from its nest. She was surprised the creature had taken the egg as well.
"So, after some more research with my human specimens I realized that my physical attributes resemble that of a human male." He removed his loin wrap to prove his point forcing Zarola to turn her eyes away so as not to have to look at it. "Meaning I need a specimen with female attributes to mate with to make more of me."
Zarola's eyes snapped open and she starred at him horrified. "You mean you want me to bare you children."
"Exactly and you are the perfect specimen. The other two human women I tried to mate with died because they were unable to grow my spawn effectively. Their life force was drained too quickly. I realized I would need a specimen with inner magic because such humans are naturally stronger and more resilient."
A now panicking Zarola began pulling at her bindings franticly.
"No I can't, I won't."
"You can, you have strong magic I tasted it in your blood, and…"
She screamed when he took his clawed fingers and ripped the front of her clothes open before reaching for her legs and spreading them open. "…you are a female of the right age. The perfect mate specimen I have been searching for. Don't worry I have studied and practiced human mating habits I know exactly how to do it."
"You cannot force yourself onto a woman. It is against human customs."
It was the only argument Zarola had to use. If this thing liked humans maybe she could sway him with human values.
"No its not!" He seemed genuinely offended "I see humans force each other to do things all the time."
Is he talking about the banished? Is that who he watches and eats?
"Have you been watching the outlanders? Humans are banished to this side of the mountain because they are evil. You cannot understand humans by watching evil people."
The creature burst out laughing and continued for some time.
"Silly Mate Specimen 3, I have studied humans on both sides of the split mountain and you all behave the same. The ones on the other side do taste better though. They tend to have more fat, sugar, and water in their blood, just like the other human you were with. He was delicious; magic makes the blood and meat exceptionally flavorful."
His hair swung her around and laid her out face down on a pile of cloths and rags not nearly think enough to soften the blow of the rocky ground beneath. The creature followed releasing her from his hair and crawling atop her using his nails to tear the back of her clothes off and pinning her in place despite her struggles and screams. His sharp fangs bit down on her neck again, drinking more blood and leaving her too weak to struggle.
"There, now you can relax as we begin, Mate Specimen 3. We are going to make a very happy family."
Zarola was never sure how long she remained trapped at the nameless creature's mercy. She lost all sense of time and her mind just drifted away whenever the creature wanted to 'mate' which was far too often. Occasionally he would bring other people only to eat them shortly after. She could do nothing but cover her ears and hide her face while the victims screamed as he consumed them. He preferred his food alive as he ate, it was more entertaining apparently. She stopped even trying to talk to anyone after the first two or three or was it more? It didn't matter; at least their suffering was short while she languished with nothing but a tattered blanket to cover her abused body atop a pile of rags. She spent most days curled in a ball growing immune to her own smell and the chill of the cave. Her leg was chained to the cave floor and her right ankle was raw from constantly rubbing against the binding.
She thought of killing herself but there was nothing sharp she could reach or poisonous she could consume. Trying to starve herself failed because the creature had the ability to control her body like a puppet. Whenever it realized she stopped eating and drinking water it would hold its hands to her head and suddenly her body would act on its own despite the desperate pleading of her mind which remained fully aware. He would force her body to eat the 'human food' he would bring her, mostly undercooked rodents and raw potatoes. Occasionally there was fruit which she ate without a fight so he would bring her more. A few times she tried pretending to eat and hid the food but he always found it and forced her to eat no matter how dirty or rancid the food had become. Unfortunately food poisoning didn't take her either.
One day she noticed the chill left the cave and was suddenly replaced by a warm wave of heat. Curious she lifted her head for the first time in ages and realized with surprise that the dragon egg, which had been sitting amongst his other things during her captivity, was hatching. As it hatched it gave off an unnatural heat like a fire. The warmth from the splintering egg was the first comfort she had felt in so long she just wanted to get closer to it if only for a moment. Her right leg remained chained to the floor and she was not sure her legs would support her even if she tried to stand, so she just crawled closer holding her hands up to the heat.
Soon the shell broke open completely and a small lizard like tail popped out. The rest of the shell fell away and a baby dragon rolled off its back and thrashed around until if found its footing to stand. It growled and snapped its jaws at her before scampering into her lap. It curled up like a cat and just stayed there. Zarola reached down petting the magical creature feeling the bond she had come seeking before being trapped in her current nightmare. But she did not blame or grow angry at the dragon; she had chosen to come to the mountains to seek the dragon eggs. Instead she felt happy stroking the surprisingly soft skin of the young dragon, it was the first pleasant thing she had touched in ages. Its sharp scales would form in a matter of hours but for now its skin was rough but soft at the same time.
"The egg hatched? Interesting, I was not sure it would."
The baby dragon jumped and scampered up to Zarola's shoulder clutching her though the blanket she used to cover herself. She clutched the dragon like a lifeline as she backed away from her captor sliding along the floor until she reached the cave wall next to her rag bed. The unnamed creature looked at her and the dragon with the same curios eyes he always had when he studied new things. Panicked that he would consume the dragon's blood for its magic she could only beg for its life by using the one thing she knew it liked, human customs.
"I want to keep it."
The creature looked at her with increased curiosity. She had not spoken to him for a long time now.
"I want to keep it. It will be like our pet. Human families keep animals as pets."
She watched him smile when she said family. She never had before, and she knew he noticed. She had no reason to indulge in his whims before but if playing house would keep the little dragon safe, she would play to his delusions.
"You can keep it. Our family does deserve a pet worthy of it."
"You can't feed off him."
"Why would I eat a lizard? You say the funniest things Mate Specimen 3. You should speak more, I enjoy it."
He dropped a bag of semi soft apples and poorly cooked rodents at her feet.
"If you want to keep the dragon, from now on you eat without me forcing you."
Zarola nodded her head in agreement.
More time pasted and the dragon grew quickly becoming the size of a large dog. She named it Theron after her older brother who was killed when helping her collect the egg. The creature would take Theron out of the cave for walks and come back excited when he began to show the ability to fly. It could breathe fire but only in a small amount. Not enough to be dangerous but enough that it would cook Zarola's food better making it easier to stomach. She often wondered if Theron could produce stronger flames or if he was just too young. Not that it would be safe to light a fire in the cave. Too many things too close together, a fire would burn out of control quickly. Zarola spent many days talking to Theron and telling it about herself and the world. It was the only company and comfort she had and the only thing that made her life at all bearable. Even if the dragon could not talk back it still seemed to be listening.
Eventually, much to the unnamed creature's excitement, her cycle stopped, and she could feel the parasite the creature had put inside her growing. The creature had long stopped feeding on her blood but the parasite inside her was now feeding on her magic instead. Her body was constantly ill and in pain, more than once she wondered if the parasite was consuming her from the inside out. Perhaps if she was lucky the parasite would kill her and end her suffering. She was not lucky, despite her constant sickness she remained alive and so did the parasite growing within.
Then came the day Theron flew away. The creature returned from a walk with the dragon strangely alone. When Zarola asked where Theron was the creature just gave a shrug not knowing where the dragon had gone off too. Apparently Theron just flew off into the sky and did not return.
Once again Zarola sank back into her despair with her only source of comfort gone. She lied there numbly unmoving for the remainder of the day as the creature again had its way with her body. Silent tears rolled down her face as she wondered where Theron had gone and why he had abandoned her. Perhaps she was simply stupid for thinking that a dragon was her friend. Never sure about the passage of time Zarola remained alone and the parasite inside continued to grow.
Then just as suddenly after being gone for some time, Theron returned, now the size of a small horse. Zarola smiled for what felt like the first time as he sauntered over to her and she wrapped her arms around the dragon's long neck soaking in the comfort of his presence. In her mind's eye she could see where he had gone. The dragon, curious about humans because of the stories she told him had flown off to observe other humans in the outlands. He had also interacted with other dragons coming back with a better understanding of their magical bond. Other dragons had told him to stay away from humans. But Theron had decided he wanted to stay with Zarola.
'Silly thing, if that is what you wanted you could have told me that before you left and scared me.'
One day shortly after Theron's return Zarola awoke to more pain than normal. Her stomach was greatly expanded by this point and she began to fear what the pain meant. The creature alerted by her moaning rolled her over on her back and began poking at her stomach.
"Looks like my patience will soon pay off. It has been long enough that even if Mate Specimin 3 dies I am sure the baby me inside her will live."
Zarola could feel herself loosing consciousness as Theron circled her while tapping her with his snout out of concern. Theron could sense the magical imbalance coming off Zarola who seemed to be growing worse by the second. She practically passed out just has she heard something whisper her name.
"Zarola"
The creature turned away from Zarola and stared excitedly at Theron.
"You are starting to talk. Incredible, I did not think dragons learned speech so young."
Annoyed by the creature's oblivious nature Zarola could feel Theron growing enraged. Theron never bonded in any way to the creature that called itself Zarola's mate and the creature paid him little mind in return. It was Zarola who had fed him her rodents as a baby until he could hunt for himself and Zarola who kept him company as he grew. He walked around until he was between the creature and his friend.
"You hurt her. Do you even care?"
The creature looked increasingly excited.
"You can speak sentences? To think that dragons develop speech ability so quickly. Maybe I should collect more specimens to study."
Hearing enough Theron took a deep breath and released an immense torch of fire from his snout setting the creature and most of his human collectables ablaze. While the creature cried out in pain as it burned alive Theron turned back to a startled Zarola using his heat to melt away the chain around her foot, their magical bond insured she was unharmed by his flame. He used the cloths she slept on to carry her out and away from the burning objects in the cave.
Once outside he turned releasing another powerful blast of fire at the cave entrance collapsing the inner walls and the only entrance to the cave burying it forever. He wrapped Zarola tightly in her blanket and used it to carry her away. If she was going to survive, he needed to get her help from other humans. She told him many times that her family lived at the village on the other side of the split mountain. That is where he would take her, the human village of Delmon.
Delmon was the first settlement on the northeastern boarder of Clow. Guarding the entrance to the Outlands and serving as a final destination to any and all who were banished for crimes and evil deeds. The village was nestled in an area of high elevation where it snowed all year.
The Cheng clan, the mages who watched over this land used their magic to erect a barrier keeping the expansive village warm so food could grow year-round and people could live comfortably. The mages who created the barrier were assisted by a powerful hidden relic handed down by Clow Reed himself, whom the family is said to be descended from.
From above Theron could see the humans moving around from place to place. Zarola had told him that her family lived in the biggest house in the village. While many of the human structures were large, at least larger than the ones in the outlands, he noticed a massive building made of several parts fenced off with a lot of open land. Many little humans were playing there, and other bigger ones were practicing magic. These humans had to be her kin and they surly would be able to help her.
Alarm bells rang as Theron flew over the border and above the human village. Humans scampered for cover in their wooden buildings and animals bellowed as he flew over. He landed in the courtyard of what he assumed to be the Cheng Estate Zarola often spoke of. The human children rushed into the arms of the older humans as several more armed with weapons came out to surround him.
"Don't attack it. If a dragon that young cries out for help it will bring a whole flock from the mountains down upon us."
Zarola who was barley conscious turned her head at the familiar sound of her father's voice. She wanted desperately to call out to him but no sound came to her and she was unable to muster the strength to move within the cocoon of blankets Theron had carried her away in.
He held his hand up signaling other members of the clan to lower their weapons as he approached Theron.
"Easy dragon, we don't want any trouble and we will do you no harm. Just go back to your mountain."
"You are the Chengs?"
Surprised by Theron's question Zarola's father stood up a little straighter obviously curious.
"Yes though I am curious as to how a dragon would come to know the name of our clan."
Standing on his haunches Theron held Zarola up so the humans could see her more clearly.
"My human friend is dying, please help her, she is of your clan."
A woman suddenly bolted around the other Clan members rushing closer despite others telling her to stay back. The relief Zarola felt at the sight of her mother was indescribable.
"Zarola. Oh god my baby, what happened, where have you…"
She stopped talking when she noticed the thin blankets the dragon held were covered in blood.
"Why is everyone standing around staring? Take her inside and call the healers."
"Calm down woman. This is no time for hysterics." Her father singled for others to come and they quickly took Zarola inside.
The local healers were summoned to the estate and quickly discovered that Zarola was in labor and would need to be cut open to deliver the baby. She wanted to tell them to let the parasite die or kill it when it emerged but she had no strength to speak. She passed out just as they began to prepare her.
When she woke up weeks later she was shocked to find herself still alive and back in her old room. The parasite disguised as a baby was nowhere to be found. She was later informed it wore the disguise of a girl. She would eventually learn that she had been gone for over a year and a half. Her condition had deteriorated so much that she would spend years recovering and being rehabilitated under the care of her mother.
Her mother had used her abilities as a seer to discover what had happened to her. Her mother assured her the parasite had been killed when the Clan realized it was some kind of monster. Her father came to see her once to confirm the death of her brother and then never came to see her again. He ordered her to remain in her room and no one to take her out of the estate, because it was better that the villagers continue to believe her dead then become aware of the shame she had brought on herself.
His order didn't matter, her legs no longer worked and she was confined to her bed anyway. The sliding doors that led out to the back court yard let Theron come and go as he pleased. He mostly stayed by her side but would occasionally fly into the mountains to interact with and learn from other dragons. Being bonded to his crippled daughter, made him of no use to the Clan, so her father just let Theron roam free. Her brothers and other relatives who lived in the sprawling estate mostly stayed away. Only her mother came to care for her. It was an uneventful existence plagued by boredom, loneliness, and nightmares that seemed to drag on endlessly. Each year passed bitterly slow, until the day it came.
Theron had left to hunt and she sat in her bed staring out at the garden. Her only entertainment was the voices of the children playing on the other side of the tall foliage. Suddenly a young girl, maybe 11 or 12 years old burst through the bushes being perused by two larger boys.
The boys were dressed well enough but the girl's dress looked old and tattered. The girl ran up to the doors of her room and pushed them open. The boys followed pushing her to the ground and began kicking her. Zarola was about to tell them to stop and leave when something one of the boys said caused her to pause.
"Stupid monster. We will teach you to kick people who are better than you?"
'Monster'
Zarola made eye contact with the girl, terrifyingly familiar red eyes looked back up at her. Panic quickly consumed her.
'It cannot be.'
Suddenly the girl's hair seemed to spring to life growing and wrapping around the two boys binding them into place. Zarola screamed but was unable to move from her bed as the girl stepped closer. She was smiling like any child would if they were excited about something.
"Hi momma it's me. They always tell me I can't see you because you're sick. But it's ok now momma, I can make you better."
She grabbed Zarola's arm and energy began to flow to her body. Her emaciated legs and arms regained muscle and a strength she had not felt in years. At the same time the two boys screamed as their bodies became weaker.
Realizing that the two boys were dying Zarola used her new found strength to lift her arm and slap the girl across the face breaking her concentration and her spell. The girl took a step back and released the boys from her grasp allowing them to fall limply to the floor. Breathing heavily Zarola franticly stood up next to her bed, her shaky legs holding her up for the first time in years. The girl, with her long black hair and red eyes was also breathing hard but still smiling.
"See Momma you are better now. Now we can be together and you can love me like all the other mommas love their kids."
Zarola could barely think strait. Here before her stood the parasite, the spawn of that creature that held her captive and ruined her life, spouting nonsense just like that creature use too.
Zarola held the sides of her head as flashbacks of her suffering came rushing back as if it was happening all over again. She didn't' know where she was or what was happening. All she knew was that she didn't want to be hurt again or feel the renewed disgust and contempt of her family.
In a violet fit of rage Zarola jumped onto the girl pinning her to the ground and grabbing her throat.
'It has to die. I have to hurry and kill it before it's too late.'
"Momma, stop."
"Don't call me that!" She pulled the girl up by the neck and began slamming her head to the ground with every word she spoke.
"You are not mine. You're not mine!"
Zarola continued to scream franticly at the parasite even as three of her brothers rushed into the room and pulled them apart. The parasite just sat on the floor coughing and holding her throat crying. Its head appeared unhurt from her assault. It looked up at her with wide sad eyes.
"I don't understand they said you were my mommy. All the mommas in the books are nice."
"Shut up!" Zarola tried to kick it but her brothers continued to hold her up and away by her arms.
Heavy footsteps march towards the room followed quickly but the appearance of her father. Zarola paused at the sight of her angry looking father. She had practically forgotten what he looked like.
"What in Clow is all this commotion?"
He scanned the room and was clearly displeased with what he saw.
"Who let that Thing out of its room? Take it back immediately and take those two to the infirmary." He said pointing to the two boys passed out on the floor.
"Make sure the elders monitoring the experiments gets a good look at them."
One of her brothers grabbed the parasite by the arm and dragged it away disappearing out the door. Two others lifted the two boys up much more gently and carried them off. They did not wake up despite the noise and movement. As soon as they were gone her mother burst into the room carrying what should have been her lunch for the afternoon.
"What is going on?" Her mother paused and dropped the food letting everything fall to floor.
"Zarola!" she rushed over taking Zarola hand as her brothers finally released her arms.
"You're standing and your color looks better. How?"
"It would seem it was the Thing's doing"
Her father turned to her and Zarola froze under his scrutiny. He used his finger to lift her face but did not meet her eye. Instead he just looked her over in curiosity, his eyes devoid of any real concern.
"Interesting we will have to keep studying that Thing to find out how she did this. Her abilities continue to surpass our expectations."
Zarola could feel her emotions rising back up as her father turned to leave.
"Why is it still alive? How could you keep it? Do you know what the monster who created it did to me?"
Her father turned his head back to her indifferent to the tears she was now shedding.
"What happened to you, was your own fault and, irrelevant now. Your mother insisted on telling you it was dead to spare what was left of your sanity. That Thing and its powers will prove useful to the Clan once we know what it can do. Several of the elders oversee its care and the experiments assessing its abilities. Some of them will stop by to see you later to assess what that Thing's power did to improve your health so dramatically."
He walked away but paused at the door.
"My order still stands. You are not to leave this room. The Second Prince has sent word that he is coming to study our archives. I do not wish to explain your ineptitude to him."
He closed the door and never came to see her again. Zarola collapsed back into her bed too numb to even cry anymore. She always suspected her father cared nothing for her. But to have it proven so thoroughly destroyed what little hope she had that anything she had ever done to please him meant anything.
Zarola spent several more years in her pitiful existence with only Theron and her liar of a mother for company. Theron would often suggest that she goes flying with him, tell her that she could leave if she wanted, but she had no desire to interact with this cold miserable world or the awful people in it. Her room and the attached garden fenced in by high vegetation was her sanctuary and that was how she liked it. Quiet and safe, no one could hurt her here.
Why her mother insisted on telling her about everything happening in the village and with the Clan was beyond Zarola's compression. She did not care who got married, who had children, or what crops were in season. She did not care about the Second Prince wandering about or his great interest in their family's relic and his multiple excursions into the outlands. She did not care which cousin they hopped he might choose to marry or the rumors of whom he was sneaking into his chambers at night. If her father was hoping he would knock up one of her cousin and the prince was stupid enough to fall for her father's schemes he deserved whatever came his way. As far as Zarola was concerned her whole Clan, no her whole village, could rot away the same way she was. Let it be consumed by its greed the same way she was consumed by her own despair and self-loathing. Unfortunately that is exactly what happened.
One night she woke to what sounded like the bellowing of a beast making the whole night sky tremble. She ran outside to try and see where it was coming from. She had just stepped off the landing when the room behind her exploded into flames pushing her forward with the momentum of the wind it created. She looked up to see her room, her sanctuary, engulfed in flames along with the rest of the estate. She heard the emergency bells ringing and the screaming carrying over the chaos. The tall shrubs surrounding her back garden burned away revealing an entire village in much the same state.
'What's happening?'
"Zarola!"
Theron's voice was almost drowned out by another bellowing roar. The dragon came tearing out of the night sky pushing Zarola down to the ground and wrapping his body around her as flames coupled with an intense heat rained down around them.
Theron continued to shield her until the flames and the screams died down. He only stood when a wave of wind washed over them extinguishing the flames immediately around them.
Theron and Zarola both looked up to see two people heading towards them. One was a brown haired man she did not recognize, the other was the parasite.
It was older now and looked every bit the 16 year old young woman it pretended to be, no longer dressed in tatters but in comfortable travel attire and holding in its hands the Cheng family relic, a crystal ball handed down from Clow Reed himself. It glowed when she held it up and Theron moved from over her to a stiff sitting position his eyes unfocused. Zarola was unable to get his attention.
"Don't bother, he is under my control. He won't awaken until I release him."
Zarola remained on her knees on the ground as she looked at the destruction around her and then to the thing she knew to be its source. Her voice was trembling and weak when she spoke.
"You… you did this." It was an accusation not a question.
As if triggered by her words the parasite's hair moved swiftly to wrap around both her wrist pulling them apart and up holding her upper body prone. Slowly she felt the vitality drain from her body, aging it prematurely.
"Be grateful Mother, we are sparing just you, because I understand now, why you couldn't' love me. For you were just as unlucky as me, to be born into this wicked excuse for a family, incapable of loving anything but its own power. But its ok, I don't need you anymore, I finally found someone who loves me."
The man she was with chuckled a little before affectingly patting the parasite on the head.
"That is right, your clan got what it deserved and soon all of Clow will pay for their complacency and arrogance. Be glad she asked to spare you for whatever reason. I will be showing no such mercy to my kin in the capital."
'Is he the second prince?'
An older and weaker Zarola fell back to the ground when the parasite released her.
"Your powers are gone now, not that you had much to begin with. Goodbye Mother."
The two walked away, disappearing into the burning village.
Eventually Theron snapped out of his stupor and simply sat next to Zarola as both could do nothing but wait for the sea of fire to put itself out. Snow began to fall as the barrier that once kept it out was now gone painting the blackened land white. No sound came from anywhere, no other souls survived to see the return of the snow.
Back in the present…
Zarola opened her eyes meeting the gazes of Sakura and Syaoran.
"There is a lot I don't know. I don't know how the second prince; your demon king became aware of that parasite and I don't know how they came to work together. All I know is that the two of them ruined my life and destroyed my home. She took our family relic, a crystal ball that enhances the power of anyone who used it. The relic is probably what Prince Kengen came here looking for. But what he found was that parasite, a living weapon to conquer the world with."
After Zarola finished her story she rolled over in her bed and did not speak to them again. The following morning Sakura and Syaoran prepared to leave after spending one final night in the barn so as not to get trapped in the mountains at night. Syaoran again asked Zarola if she wanted to leave this place with them but she refused. They prepared some food for her before they left.
Sakura listened to their footsteps crunching in the snow with curiosity, turning around a few times to look back at the trail they left. The cold winds had settled and the sun reflected off the snowdrifts creating an almost warm felling in the air. The baron show drifts would have been beautiful, if not for the terrible destructions she knew lied just beneath. She felt slighted that her first chance to walk in snow was marred by the depressing atmosphere.
She paused when Syaoran did and smiled for the first time in days, when he used his flute to call Rainbow. The sight of their companion lifting her sullen spirit as Rainbow nuzzled a greeting to them both.
"Rainbow, I missed you too."
"His name is not Rainbow."
Taking the offered opportunity to break the silence, Sakura stuck out her tong and hugged Rainbow around the neck.
"You can't just call him Pegasus, he needs a name so he knows how special he is."
Rainbow puffed his chest and opened his wings wide as if in agreement. Syaoran rolled his eyes.
"Somehow, I don't think his ego is in danger."
"SAKURA, what about me! Stop acting like that stupid horse is so important." Kero flew up in Sakura's face fuming.
"Kero you already have a name."
Still fuming Kero transformed back into his true form and pushed his way between Sakura and Rainbow.
"Let's just get going before the precious pony thinks he is too good to fly and insist on being carried."
Rainbow neighed his indignation and pushed his nose to Kero's snout who in turn pushed back until the two animals were locked in a glaring contest.
"Now look what you did." Syaoran glared at a laughing Sakura.
"Oh, come on Syaoran they are always like this. It's half the fun of traveling together."
The two suddenly broke apart and took protective stances next to their humans when Theron the dragon suddenly flew down in front of them.
"Theron? Are you ok did something happen?"
"No" the dragon said shaking his head. "I just have something to give you after thinking it over."
Sakura jumped a little when Theron arched his back and his long spikes stood up on end. She swung his tail and the four spikes at the tip shot out from his scales and embedded into the ground in front of them. The scaly spikes glowed with magic until settling into a bone white color. Sakura stared at them in aww as Syaoran bent down and picked one up to better examine it before he asked Theron the question she was wondering.
"Why are you giving this to us?"
Theron sat on his haunches and looked past them to the mountains.
"I have pleaded with Zarola, for many years to leave this place with me. I would take her wherever she chooses but she refuses. The kind human who once protected me has condemned herself to waist away in her pain. I think the only reason she still eats and has not killed herself is because she fears facing her kin in the afterlife. I can't erase her regrets, but maybe you can. If you want to weaken Takara then destroy the crystal ball she carries. The relic enhances her power and she will be weaker without it. It is made from the scales of a dragon, so only dragon scales can destroy it."
Theron turned and began walking away in the snow. His large claws overtaking the tracks left by the two humans. Keroberous sniffed at the spikes before calling over to Theron.
"What will you do, when that human is gone?"
Theron did not turn back around when he answered. "I will return to the mountains."
Sakura picked up one of the spikes to better look at it. It wasn't what they had expected but it was something. She did not know if destroying the crystal ball would be enough stop what was coming but it could be the start of a plan, right? While Syaoran wrapped the dragon spikes up and packed them away Sakura prepared to climb up on Kero to leave to… to where? Delmon had been their destination all this time.
"Syaoran where are we going now?"
Syaoran looked thoughtful for a minute but just shrugged his shoulders
"I guess, we go home, and think of a new plan. The solstice is still coming."
Sakura looked at him confused did he really intent to take her home?
"We are going back to Awai?"
Why was Syaoran laughing? What had she said that was funny?
Syaoran held out his hand from atop Rainbow inviting Sakura to take it, which she did leaning sideways on Kero's back. In a swift motion he released his sword and jammed it into the ground teleporting them away.
Somewhere in the mountains…
Syaoran teleported them almost two days south in an instant but instead of landing on the ground as she expected they instead materialized among the clouds in the sky. Sakura and Kero screamed as they fell several feet until Kero finally remembered he had wings and his powerful flapping calmed her panicked heart. Yes, she could also fly herself but she had been caught completely off guard and that jerk who pretended to love her seemed to find it hilarious. Sakura gripped Kero's armor tightly as she glared at Syaoran who was laughing with no sign or restraint from atop an unbothered Pegasus.
"I cannot believe you!"
"Hey, don't get mad at me because the stuffed toy forgot he could fly." Syaoran said causing Kero to glare at him and Sakura to fume.
"I am going to kill you." Sakura declared as Kero charged at the object of her rage.
Pegasus turned in a swift dive leading them on a chase over the lush forest covered mountains. The massive overgrown forest littered the wide crested mountains below, painting the landscape green from the treetops and blue from the rivers that snacked their way down the mountains all while being fed by massive waterfalls. It was beautiful, and the perfect place to hide Syaoran's body when she caught him. No one would ever find him.
Rainbow veered left following a river that cut through the mountains. The mountains split open and Sakura pulled Kero back to stop his pursuit. The river disappeared into a wide waterfall feeding a massive lake below that was outlined by a vast valley. The forest from the mountains continued down into the valley near the east of the lake.
West of the lake, she noticed several aqueducts cut across the land for irrigation. The familiar cut of farm land was evident from this high up. The farmland gave way to more open land and an increasing number of homes and buildings spread across a wide area. A farming village, not unlike Tomoeda, but much bigger. However unlike Tomoeda there was no road or easy path in or out of this place. It was cut off from the outside world and likely perilous to get too without magic.
Syaoran and Rainbow flew into her field of vision breaking her trance.
"This is my home. Welcome to the hidden village of Kamali, Angel."
Why was she mad at him again?
Authors Note: Raptor means bird of prey. Theron means hunter and has a Greek origin.