CHAPTER 3 - Syaoran and the Castle
"Oh, Sakura, hello!" said Mizuki, trying to put on a smile. "I heard...about the poor children," she said after a while, failing to keep the smile. "Just terrible."
"I brought someone along, if its all right," said Sakura. "His name is Syaoran."
"Hello, Mistress Mizuki," said Syaoran, bowing respectfully. His eyes were dark and baggy, like Sakura's, but he carried the pain of knowing and raising a lot of the dead kids by himself for so long. Sakura worried he might drift over the edge, and become suicidal or homicidal. Or both. Much like herself those first days after the disease, she thought bitterly.
"Syaoran? Oh, you poor thing! Here, eat some bread. It's all I can give you, though, I'm afraid."
"Thank you, but I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten a thing in two days," said Sakura. "You need to eat something."
Syaoran sighed, but he wolfed the bread and warm milk provided for him. Mizuki allowed the two to sleep in her room if they wanted, and with both of them too tired and depressed to argue, they slept on the ground beside her bed.
The next day, Syaoran announced he needed to avenge the deaths. "No..." said Sakura, but Syaoran stopped her.
"Either you help, or you don't, but don't try to stop me."
Sakura sighed, but saw the hard look in Syaoran's face and knew he could not be convinced otherwise. "Okay," said Sakura. "I'll help you any way I can, but I'm not much of a fighter."
"Well, you'll do what you can. I hope you're good at diversions." As Syaoran explained his plan, Sakura noticed he was smiling for the first time since they had returned, but it was not a happy smile. It sent a shiver up her spine.
************
"Syaoran," said Sakura, as the dawn broke on the day they would carry out their plan, "be careful, okay."
"Of course, Sakura. Don't worry, I'll come back to Mistress Mizuki's bakery, and we'll get out of this miserable town."
"Okay," said Sakura. Frankly, she wasn't adverse to leaving.
At noon, Sakura and Syaoran were in place. Syaoran had a sword he stole from a noble, its hilt jeweled and blade still sharp from being more show than in use. Sakura had a few matches. She was to burn down the blacksmithery she used to live at, and while the guards' attentions were taken up by the fire, Syaoran could sneak into the castle grounds and do whatever he had planned. Sakura wasn't sure what he would do, but he promised to not kill anyone, "I don't have to."
Sakura heard the town bell dong loudly, counting up to twelve hours. She lit the match on ten, tossed it on eleven, and watched the blacksmithery, which she had grown up in and was now covered in quick-burning fluid, go up in flames a second time. By the time the bell's tone died down, there was quite a fire going on as Sakura abandoned the scene.
She watched from afar as guards and townspeople alike instantly brought buckets of water to the scene. The town was usually good with fires. But the fluid helped sustain the flames, and the water poured onto them seemed to do nothing. She hoped Syaoran would be all right.
She barely got the thought out when the sword of a guard came to her throat. Nearly choking in surprise, she was held tightly by the other arm of the owner of the sword. "Think you can just set fires, girl, and get away with it?"
"What?" said Sakura, playing dumb. Her knees buckled under her, and she felt she was only standing because he was holding her so tightly.
"Our informant told us she saw you set the fire. You're as good as dead. For your kind, death is certain." Sakura felt the life drain out of her. Who had seen? She had thought the coast was clear.
"Who...who..." she said softly.
"Ah, Sakura," said Aneko, who came up from the scene. "It seems you have been found."
"Aneko!" Sakura squeaked.
"It's sad things had to turn out like this, but the guards made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I'm sure you'd understand. And I knew Syaoran would try something, so I followed you two around and overheard your little plan. I'm sure Syaoran is not long to joining you in the prison, Sakura."
Sakura felt sick. Syaoran had been betrayed by Aneko, whom he had entrusted the safety of all the kids in the cave. "You are no better than a murderer!" she said angrily, suddenly furious. She kicked at Aneko, but was held back by the guard.
"No need for theatrics," the girl said calmly.
"Come along, now," the guard holding Sakura said. "Time to go." Sakura fought him, but he grimaced and whapped her with the hilt of sword in the back of her head, and she felt all go black.
************
The castle grounds seemed unusually devoid of guards, even for the diversion Sakura had made for Syaoran that caused the two guards posted on the castle wall to rush for the fire. After they had left, he had scaled the wall and made his way near the main castle. In there was something he needed to pull off the rest of his plan of revenge.
Syaoran mused to himself that it seemed as if they were waiting for him to come, but knew that was foolish. They couldn't have known. Only Sakura knew, and he doubted she would have turned him in. But maybe someone had been there to overhear? His mind wouldn't let him enjoy how easy this was turning out to be.
Syaoran saw something glimmer in the sun in front of him, behind a bush. He realized it was the glint of metal. Guards. So they were hiding, they had known he was coming. And if they knew he was coming...Sakura.
He turned to go back, but felt the guards pop out behind him. Old teaching came back to him, teaching he thought was long forgotten. He spun and cut with his sword, slicing two crossbow quarrels in mid-air before they could hit him, and dodging two more coming from either side. The guards whose quarrels he cut looked dazed, unbelieving their eyes. He could hardly believe it himself.
More guards were pursuing from the exit of the castle, so Syaoran took off for the castle, crossbow shots whizzing past. He bobbed and weaved toward the castle, throwing off their aiming with sudden stops or bursts of quickness. He leapt at stained-glass window, breaking through it and landing inside the castle. He felt the glass cut in to him in many different places, but ignored it and ran up the main staircase. Guards followed from the window and door, and more stood in his ways, armed with spears. They were the defensive guards, designed to stop intruders.
Syaoran took more suddenly remembered teaching of the sword to parry spear thrusts and slash the men holding them. Bleeding, they were still crumpling down even as he passed them. He thought they would live, but they wouldn't trouble him for a while. The guards were still chasing them, and he counted between fifteen and twenty. No chance if he ran into a dead-end.
Syaoran still remembered the castle layout from his trips there as a boy with his mother. Ex-mother, he thought angrily. He reminded himself there was no time for emotions to get in his way. He needed to get the King's seal and get out and find Sakura. He worried she might be in trouble as well.
Throwing statues and wall paintings at the guards behind him in the hopes of slowing them down, he danced and leaped around and over any who tried to get in front of him. He almost laughed as he realized how poorly guarded the King's bedroom was, at least while the King was not in it.
Spears flew by his head and body, thrown by those he passed. One grazed his shoulder, not sticking but still drawing a good amount of pain and blood. He grimaced but ignored it. It was his left arm; his sword arm was still intact and that was all that mattered.
The King's bedroom had four spear-wielding guards in front of it. Syaoran yelled to get focused, and waved his sword in front of him, deflecting spears without even realizing what he was doing. He had not used a weapon in such a long time, but he was behaving like he'd never stopped. Soon the four guards were down, but the ones behind him were almost on him. He kicked up the door, then slammed it shut behind him, using a chair to keep it closed. It would hold, but not for long.
The last guards had been very skilled, and he had not escaped them unscathed. Small wounds dribbled blood all over, and every step was painful. He hobbled over to the drawer by the giant bed the King slept in. The King himself was out on a trip abroad, which is why he chose now to go in. He thought the security would be lower, and he had been right. As a boy, he remembered the castle having so many guards you couldn't swing your arms without hitting one.
It only took a search of a couple drawers before he found a document with an official seal of the King. There were plenty, and he stuffed a handful of them into the small pack on his back. The door was ready to fly open, so he rushed over to the window of the bedroom. It was high up, and the castle grounds had more guards in them. Cursing, he climbed out onto the balcony.
The door burst open, and the guards all swarmed in, only to find Syaoran leap the three-stories from the balcony to the grounds. He hit with a roll, and felt agony like he'd never felt before. The guards on the ground shock off their shock to run for him, swords drawn, but he never gave them a chance to fight. Abandoning his stolen sword, he ran as fast as he ever had to escape them. And in their armor, they could not keep up. He raced to the castle wall, and scampered up and over, and kept running. Cuts burned and his body complained bitterly, but he did not stop until he was in Mizuki's bakery.
"Sa...kur...a..." he managed to get out. Mizuki shook her head, and noticed his condition. She gasped and he fell over, unconscious, exhausted and bloody, onto the bakery floor.
*************
"Master, why did you not stop the boy?" said Aneko to the magician in front of her, watching Syaoran run away from the castle.
The magician smiled. "This was not the time. Besides, I like him. He is strong and he has courage. And he and I do share some things."
"He managed to evade all the castle's guards."
"Yes, he did. Quite impressive. But he will return."
"You think he will? He has what he wanted to get."
"But, the castle has a prisoner he will want to get more than anything he has now."
"You mean Sakura, Master?" The magician nodded. "I didn't think he liked her that much that he would risk his life to save her."
"Do not worry. One day those kinds of things will be obvious. Anyway, when he returns for her, he and I can meet. I've always wanted to find the boy the Li clan disowned. I have been curious as to why they did so. But it looks like I only have to wait a little longer for him to come back." He noticed Aneko looking gloomily at the ground. "What is it?"
"Master, am...I...a murderer?" Aneko asked haltingly. "For being a traitor to Syaoran? And letting those kids die?"
"No, no. It had to be done to force him out. Sad, really, but I need him, and that's important. Besides, you didn't actually kill anyone, the guards did that."
"You're right, of course, when you look at it that way." The girl seemed more upbeat. The magician noted how easy it was to make the girl believe whatever he wanted her to believe.
"I'm always right," the magician said, a smile on his lips. It looked odd. "Clow Reed is never wrong."
*************************************
Continued in Chapter 4
"Oh, Sakura, hello!" said Mizuki, trying to put on a smile. "I heard...about the poor children," she said after a while, failing to keep the smile. "Just terrible."
"I brought someone along, if its all right," said Sakura. "His name is Syaoran."
"Hello, Mistress Mizuki," said Syaoran, bowing respectfully. His eyes were dark and baggy, like Sakura's, but he carried the pain of knowing and raising a lot of the dead kids by himself for so long. Sakura worried he might drift over the edge, and become suicidal or homicidal. Or both. Much like herself those first days after the disease, she thought bitterly.
"Syaoran? Oh, you poor thing! Here, eat some bread. It's all I can give you, though, I'm afraid."
"Thank you, but I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten a thing in two days," said Sakura. "You need to eat something."
Syaoran sighed, but he wolfed the bread and warm milk provided for him. Mizuki allowed the two to sleep in her room if they wanted, and with both of them too tired and depressed to argue, they slept on the ground beside her bed.
The next day, Syaoran announced he needed to avenge the deaths. "No..." said Sakura, but Syaoran stopped her.
"Either you help, or you don't, but don't try to stop me."
Sakura sighed, but saw the hard look in Syaoran's face and knew he could not be convinced otherwise. "Okay," said Sakura. "I'll help you any way I can, but I'm not much of a fighter."
"Well, you'll do what you can. I hope you're good at diversions." As Syaoran explained his plan, Sakura noticed he was smiling for the first time since they had returned, but it was not a happy smile. It sent a shiver up her spine.
************
"Syaoran," said Sakura, as the dawn broke on the day they would carry out their plan, "be careful, okay."
"Of course, Sakura. Don't worry, I'll come back to Mistress Mizuki's bakery, and we'll get out of this miserable town."
"Okay," said Sakura. Frankly, she wasn't adverse to leaving.
At noon, Sakura and Syaoran were in place. Syaoran had a sword he stole from a noble, its hilt jeweled and blade still sharp from being more show than in use. Sakura had a few matches. She was to burn down the blacksmithery she used to live at, and while the guards' attentions were taken up by the fire, Syaoran could sneak into the castle grounds and do whatever he had planned. Sakura wasn't sure what he would do, but he promised to not kill anyone, "I don't have to."
Sakura heard the town bell dong loudly, counting up to twelve hours. She lit the match on ten, tossed it on eleven, and watched the blacksmithery, which she had grown up in and was now covered in quick-burning fluid, go up in flames a second time. By the time the bell's tone died down, there was quite a fire going on as Sakura abandoned the scene.
She watched from afar as guards and townspeople alike instantly brought buckets of water to the scene. The town was usually good with fires. But the fluid helped sustain the flames, and the water poured onto them seemed to do nothing. She hoped Syaoran would be all right.
She barely got the thought out when the sword of a guard came to her throat. Nearly choking in surprise, she was held tightly by the other arm of the owner of the sword. "Think you can just set fires, girl, and get away with it?"
"What?" said Sakura, playing dumb. Her knees buckled under her, and she felt she was only standing because he was holding her so tightly.
"Our informant told us she saw you set the fire. You're as good as dead. For your kind, death is certain." Sakura felt the life drain out of her. Who had seen? She had thought the coast was clear.
"Who...who..." she said softly.
"Ah, Sakura," said Aneko, who came up from the scene. "It seems you have been found."
"Aneko!" Sakura squeaked.
"It's sad things had to turn out like this, but the guards made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I'm sure you'd understand. And I knew Syaoran would try something, so I followed you two around and overheard your little plan. I'm sure Syaoran is not long to joining you in the prison, Sakura."
Sakura felt sick. Syaoran had been betrayed by Aneko, whom he had entrusted the safety of all the kids in the cave. "You are no better than a murderer!" she said angrily, suddenly furious. She kicked at Aneko, but was held back by the guard.
"No need for theatrics," the girl said calmly.
"Come along, now," the guard holding Sakura said. "Time to go." Sakura fought him, but he grimaced and whapped her with the hilt of sword in the back of her head, and she felt all go black.
************
The castle grounds seemed unusually devoid of guards, even for the diversion Sakura had made for Syaoran that caused the two guards posted on the castle wall to rush for the fire. After they had left, he had scaled the wall and made his way near the main castle. In there was something he needed to pull off the rest of his plan of revenge.
Syaoran mused to himself that it seemed as if they were waiting for him to come, but knew that was foolish. They couldn't have known. Only Sakura knew, and he doubted she would have turned him in. But maybe someone had been there to overhear? His mind wouldn't let him enjoy how easy this was turning out to be.
Syaoran saw something glimmer in the sun in front of him, behind a bush. He realized it was the glint of metal. Guards. So they were hiding, they had known he was coming. And if they knew he was coming...Sakura.
He turned to go back, but felt the guards pop out behind him. Old teaching came back to him, teaching he thought was long forgotten. He spun and cut with his sword, slicing two crossbow quarrels in mid-air before they could hit him, and dodging two more coming from either side. The guards whose quarrels he cut looked dazed, unbelieving their eyes. He could hardly believe it himself.
More guards were pursuing from the exit of the castle, so Syaoran took off for the castle, crossbow shots whizzing past. He bobbed and weaved toward the castle, throwing off their aiming with sudden stops or bursts of quickness. He leapt at stained-glass window, breaking through it and landing inside the castle. He felt the glass cut in to him in many different places, but ignored it and ran up the main staircase. Guards followed from the window and door, and more stood in his ways, armed with spears. They were the defensive guards, designed to stop intruders.
Syaoran took more suddenly remembered teaching of the sword to parry spear thrusts and slash the men holding them. Bleeding, they were still crumpling down even as he passed them. He thought they would live, but they wouldn't trouble him for a while. The guards were still chasing them, and he counted between fifteen and twenty. No chance if he ran into a dead-end.
Syaoran still remembered the castle layout from his trips there as a boy with his mother. Ex-mother, he thought angrily. He reminded himself there was no time for emotions to get in his way. He needed to get the King's seal and get out and find Sakura. He worried she might be in trouble as well.
Throwing statues and wall paintings at the guards behind him in the hopes of slowing them down, he danced and leaped around and over any who tried to get in front of him. He almost laughed as he realized how poorly guarded the King's bedroom was, at least while the King was not in it.
Spears flew by his head and body, thrown by those he passed. One grazed his shoulder, not sticking but still drawing a good amount of pain and blood. He grimaced but ignored it. It was his left arm; his sword arm was still intact and that was all that mattered.
The King's bedroom had four spear-wielding guards in front of it. Syaoran yelled to get focused, and waved his sword in front of him, deflecting spears without even realizing what he was doing. He had not used a weapon in such a long time, but he was behaving like he'd never stopped. Soon the four guards were down, but the ones behind him were almost on him. He kicked up the door, then slammed it shut behind him, using a chair to keep it closed. It would hold, but not for long.
The last guards had been very skilled, and he had not escaped them unscathed. Small wounds dribbled blood all over, and every step was painful. He hobbled over to the drawer by the giant bed the King slept in. The King himself was out on a trip abroad, which is why he chose now to go in. He thought the security would be lower, and he had been right. As a boy, he remembered the castle having so many guards you couldn't swing your arms without hitting one.
It only took a search of a couple drawers before he found a document with an official seal of the King. There were plenty, and he stuffed a handful of them into the small pack on his back. The door was ready to fly open, so he rushed over to the window of the bedroom. It was high up, and the castle grounds had more guards in them. Cursing, he climbed out onto the balcony.
The door burst open, and the guards all swarmed in, only to find Syaoran leap the three-stories from the balcony to the grounds. He hit with a roll, and felt agony like he'd never felt before. The guards on the ground shock off their shock to run for him, swords drawn, but he never gave them a chance to fight. Abandoning his stolen sword, he ran as fast as he ever had to escape them. And in their armor, they could not keep up. He raced to the castle wall, and scampered up and over, and kept running. Cuts burned and his body complained bitterly, but he did not stop until he was in Mizuki's bakery.
"Sa...kur...a..." he managed to get out. Mizuki shook her head, and noticed his condition. She gasped and he fell over, unconscious, exhausted and bloody, onto the bakery floor.
*************
"Master, why did you not stop the boy?" said Aneko to the magician in front of her, watching Syaoran run away from the castle.
The magician smiled. "This was not the time. Besides, I like him. He is strong and he has courage. And he and I do share some things."
"He managed to evade all the castle's guards."
"Yes, he did. Quite impressive. But he will return."
"You think he will? He has what he wanted to get."
"But, the castle has a prisoner he will want to get more than anything he has now."
"You mean Sakura, Master?" The magician nodded. "I didn't think he liked her that much that he would risk his life to save her."
"Do not worry. One day those kinds of things will be obvious. Anyway, when he returns for her, he and I can meet. I've always wanted to find the boy the Li clan disowned. I have been curious as to why they did so. But it looks like I only have to wait a little longer for him to come back." He noticed Aneko looking gloomily at the ground. "What is it?"
"Master, am...I...a murderer?" Aneko asked haltingly. "For being a traitor to Syaoran? And letting those kids die?"
"No, no. It had to be done to force him out. Sad, really, but I need him, and that's important. Besides, you didn't actually kill anyone, the guards did that."
"You're right, of course, when you look at it that way." The girl seemed more upbeat. The magician noted how easy it was to make the girl believe whatever he wanted her to believe.
"I'm always right," the magician said, a smile on his lips. It looked odd. "Clow Reed is never wrong."
*************************************
Continued in Chapter 4