Chapter Nine

The trial

When Sakura woke up, the candle was lit again and she was alone in the room. She had been cooped up there for several days now, Syaoran would visit her to give her food or to escort her out after sunset, and he always stayed while she slept.

At first she was repulsed by having a vampire by her side, but little by little she didn't mind his presence so much. They had talked a lot and Sakura had grown accustomed to being near him.

She sat up just as the door opened.

"I brought you something," Syaoran said as he walked in and saw her awake.

He got closer to her, handing her a glass jar filled with food and a bottle filled with water.

"Where did you get this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's from your backpack."

Sakura opened the jar and started to eat.

"You have my backpack? Where?"

Syaoran shrugged, giving her a mysterious smile. She grumbled when she didn't get an answer, but continued eating until the jar was empty.

"Meiling will arrive soon and your trial will begin."

Sakura looked up.

"Do you sentence many humans to death?"

He thought about it for a moment before answering.

"It has happened... but mostly to vampires who kill humans for no reason."

"Will I be able to see Tomoyo?"

"Yes, you're going to see her," he confirmed, nodding.

Sakura smiled and took the cap off the bottle. She stopped when she had drunk half of it, wondering if it would be better to save it for another day.

"You can drink it all. I'll refill it for you," Syaoran said.

She looked him in the eye.

"But you don't know how. The water has to be filtered or I'll get sick and..."

The vampire interrupted her with a wave of his hand.

"I know, I have your filters and I know how to do it. The water I've been giving you these days is filtered."

Sakura nodded and drank the rest of the bottle. She sighed contentedly and laid back down on the bed.

"Hey... Could you explain to me how you got in through the window the day you captured us?" she asked, frowning.

She'd been thinking about everything that went wrong that day for a long time. Syaoran smirked and moved a little closer to her.

"Easy enough. I climbed up the building quietly so you two wouldn't hear me, and once I was on the roof, I slid down the rope and jumped in through the window."

"Can you climb buildings?" Sakura asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"I've already told you that I'm much stronger than a regular vampire. I wanted to catch you by surprise."

"Well, you did surprise us."

"I know, I remember your faces when you saw me," Syaoran replied, still grinning.

She snorted in annoyance.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked, taking two more steps towards her.

"Physically, yes. I'm better."

Sakura wasn't tired or weak anymore, but she was still heartbroken over Eriol's death, and she was also worried about what was going to happen to Tomoyo and her. Something told her that she would never see her family again.

Syaoran sat on the edge of the bed and glanced at her.

"I'm sorry about your friend."

Sakura laughed half-heartedly.

"You, a human murderer... are sorry my friend is dead?" she asked wryly.

"I do. I told you I don't like it when humans die. I'd rather not kill them if I have a choice."

Sakura averted her gaze.

"Even if that were true, you let the vampires you live with kill them. And I'm sure you've killed many of us," she replied harshly.

"They can't control their instincts as well as I can. I can't watch what they do when I'm not around, but they have orders to feed without killing. I made some mistakes when I was younger that I regret, but almost every human I've killed has been to defend myself."

She snorted and looked him in the eye again.

"If you don't kill humans, how did you eat over the years?" she murmured, raising an eyebrow.

Syaoran smiled, but said nothing. Sakura scanned his face with her eyes, finding it hard to believe he was over a century old.

"How old are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"And you?"

"Twenty-five."

"I'm a few more years old... I think I'm a hundred and four, I can't really keep track."

Sakura grimaced, turning her head away from him. Everything Syaoran was saying sounded like a big fat lie, but she couldn't understand why the vampire was trying to trick her.

"When I was little, I wasn't aware of what I was doing. My uncle took care of me, and when I grew up I started using my mind control," Syaoran added quietly.

He wanted Sakura's attention again and he got it. She looked at him, scowling.

"Don't fuck with me. Mind control? That's all we needed," she replied, rolling her eyes.

His lips curved as he listened to her.

"It's true. If I'm close enough to a human and look them in the eye, I can get them to do what I want. I force them not to scream and drink some of their blood without hurting them too much, and then I let them go."

"I don't believe you. Vampires can't do that," Sakura said, frowning even more.

Syaoran's grin widened until she could see all his teeth.

"Pure-blooded vampires can... Do you want to see it?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

She nodded and stared at him, challenging him. His eyes turned scarlet red and he moved closer, until their faces were just inches apart.

Sakura panicked for a moment. What if he was telling the truth and he really could control her mind? What if he could get her to do anything even if she didn't want to?

She saw the vampire's pupils dilate and constrict several times, completely fixed on hers.

"Kiss me," Syaoran asked in a whisper.

Sakura moved closer to him, until their noses brushed. She heard Syaoran swallow and saw him part his lips slightly, as if he was waiting to receive her kiss.

What a deluded man.

"Never," she murmured, pulling away from him suddenly.

He blinked several times in confusion.

"Can you resist? How is that even possible?"

She glanced sideways at him from the headboard, giving him a mocking smile.

"Because you're lying. No vampire can control human minds."

"Yes, I can. This is the first time a human has resisted my mind control," Syaoran growled, frowning and clenching his fists.

Sakura folded her arms, still smirking and staring up at him. That pissed him off even more. Syaoran cursed under his breath and stormed out of the room, slamming the door.

That human was turning into a complete nightmare. He needed his cousin back, and as soon as possible.

Sakura regretted drinking so much water when she had to use the damn plastic bucket.

It had been quite a while when Syaoran came back inside and rushed over to her, grabbing her arm.

"Come with me," he said in a deep voice.

Sakura let herself be led through the dark corridors without a word. This time she didn't hear a single growl, and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.

Syaoran opened a door and they walked through. Before them was a candlelit room where everything was made of stone, save for a few metal chairs. There were two much larger ones presiding over the room.

About fifteen vampires sat in them and glared at her as she entered, with Syaoran holding her arm tightly. He pulled her over to a chair near the lectern where the two larger ones were and forced her to sit down.

He pulled out some ropes and bent down, tying her hand and foot to the metal chair. Sakura shot him a look of hatred.

"It's just in case you try to attack someone or escape," Syaran muttered before getting to his feet and sitting down in one of the large chairs, avoiding her gaze.

A minute later, the door opened again and a woman who looked to be the same age as Syaoran walked in.

Sakura watched her as she walked towards them, her eyes widening. Her long black hair cascaded down her back and she was as tall as Syaoran. Her eyes had a very soft reddish hue to them, nothing like vampires.

The unknown woman approached her, looking her up and down.

"So... This is the human who killed Nakuru, Hiro and Joseph?" she asked, averting her gaze to Syaoran.

He nodded wordlessly, one of his arms resting on the chair with a nonchalant gesture.

"Well, she seems insignificant. She shouldn't be able to fight three of us," the vampire murmured in a mocking voice.

Sakura jerked in her chair, fury seeping from every pore of her skin.

"Let go of me and you'll see what I'm capable of," she growled through her teeth.

The woman's eyes turned blood red and Syaoran smirked.

"I told you she has a temper, Meiling."

"She's just a pathetic, rude human," she snarled, ignoring Sakura and sitting down next to him in the other large chair.

Meiling surveyed all the vampires in the room before speaking again.

"So you confirm that it was you who killed them?" she asked, looking at Sakura out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes, and I would do it again."

"Let her die!" a woman shouted.

There was a murmur of approval in the courtroom.

"Before the verdict... tell us, human. Why did you kill them?" Syaoran asked.

"They killed my best friend."

"So it was revenge," Meiling mumbled, thoughtfully.

"Yes, but if I could... I'd kill you all right now!" Sakura shouted with hatred.

She continued to writhe in the chair, struggling to free herself from the ropes as several vampires stood up and gave her murderous glares.

"She deserves to die!" two of them shouted.

"It's only fair. She took the lives of three vampires, so we'll take hers," Meiling opined, glancing at her cousin.

"You'll make a very delicious lunch," said a blonde woman, approaching Sakura and baring her fangs.

Syaoran jumped to his feet.

"I don't want her to die."

All the vampires turned to look at him, shocked.

"She's a vampire slayer! And she just admitted she wants to kill us all!" growled the woman next to Sakura, clenching her fists.

"I know, but... she's my Sangui Sirenis," Syaoran confessed quietly.

The silence that followed his words was stony. The vampires stared at each other in shock and Meiling's mouth hung open.

"Is that your Sangui Sirenis? Are you sure, cousin?" she asked, standing up and walking over to him.

Syaoran nodded.

"I knew it the first time I saw her, and her scent confirmed it."

"Sirenis? What the hell are you talking about?" Sakura asked, still struggling against the ropes.

Meiling moved so fast that her breath caught. In a second, Sakura had her face only millimetres away. She saw her pupils dilate and constrict, and she knew what she was trying to do.

Sakura smiled because she knew it wouldn't work.

"Stay still and be quiet," Meiling said.

She closed her mouth instantly. Sakura glared at Syaoran with hatred, but she couldn't speak or move a muscle.

He too approached her, very surprised.

"I tried that a while ago, but it didn't work. I couldn't control her," he commented, staring down at Sakura curiously.

The cousins looked at each other for a few seconds.

"Maybe we can't control our Sangui Sirenis... That's very interesting," Meiling murmured.

"Enough talk. We want her blood!" a man shouted.

The two cousins frowned and turned. Their red eyes scanned the room slowly, glancing at each of the vampires there.

"She's not going to die," Syaoran said.

The vampires began to protest, but Meiling raised an arm and they all fell silent.

"Although we have never seen it before, you all know the legend. Pure-blooded vampires can find a human whose blood and body attracts them as if they were a siren calling to them, which is why they were given the name 'Sangui Sirenis' or Siren's Blood. And, if this human is my cousin's, her death would mean an eternity of suffering for having lost her. So she will not die, though she will not return to her world. She will stay with us, my cousin will be in charge of watching over her so that she doesn't cause us any trouble, and he can do whatever he wants with her."

She turned again to look at Sakura.

"And if you even think of plotting anything against us, I will control your mind myself so that you can't do anything," she warned her, fixing her scarlet eyes on her.

Sakura flinched and everyone was silent for a moment, taking in Meiling's words. She approached the human and stared at her again, their faces very close.

"You can talk and move, but don't scream," she whispered before sitting back in her chair.

Sakura gasped as she felt like she could open her mouth and move her body again. Syaoran stood beside her, glaring at the rest of the vampires with defiant eyes.

"If anyone dares to touch her, I will tear them apart with my bare hands."

The vampires whispered quietly, but sat back down.

"All right, but the other human will die," one man said, pointing to the door.

"Tomoyo," Sakura whispered, shivering.

One of the vampires left the room and returned a minute later, carrying Tomoyo over his shoulder. He released her next to Sakura and she saw that her friend too had her hands and feet tied.

Tomoyo stood up as best she could and plopped down in Sakura, tears filling her eyes. She slipped her bound hands over her friend's head so she could hug her and they both stifled a sob, though they were relieved to know that they were both still alive.

"I thought you were dead," Tomoyo murmured, resting her head on Sakura's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. And I won't let them hurt you."

"She killed Claude and we'll drink to the last drop of her blood!" said one of the older-looking men, getting to his feet.

"What do you think, Mei?" asked Syaoran, turning his head to look at her.

At that moment, everyone fell silent at the sight of Meiling's expression. Her eyes were red as fire and wide open. She was staring down at Tomoyo, fangs peeking out from between her lips.

Syaoran stood up and walked towards her until he was just inches away. Meiling breathed in sharply and shuddered, closing her eyes.

"It can't be," he muttered in shock.

Meiling opened her eyes again and looked sideways at her cousin.

"This human is my Sangui Sirenis, Syaoran."