Daphne: "The fifth chapter! Yay! Now, this is the chapter where you will
find out who it was that overheard Yamazaki and Eriol talking. Some of you
may be surprised-others won't be. I just hope that you like it and will
review! Tell me what you think! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
~*~*~*~
Refuge
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 5.
"I can't help but wonder what has gotten into father." Touya sighed, that night. He, Sakura, Tomoyo, Lady Kaho and Nanny were back in the playroom with several of the children who were not asleep. The baby lay in Sakura's arms, this time, and was looking up at her with bleary blue eyes. Little Junshi was again leaning against Touya's knee tiredly. Tomoyo held a little boy of about three in her arms, as his eyelids became heavier and heavier.
"I really don't know. He just hasn't been himself the past few months." Sakura commented, as she rocked Akane. Akane's eyes were now shut, and her breathing was regular. Sakura grinned mischievously and looked toward the door, where several new figures had appeared. Without a word, Sakura slipped the tiny girl into Touya's arms and watched as his face went from shocked, to unsure, then finally to content, as the baby snuggled into his arms and let out a little coo. There was an 'awe!' from the doorway, and the people in the room turned to see several new people standing there, unsure.
"Siefa, hold me!" Junshi murmured, tiredly holding his arms out to her. She entered the room and knelt down on the floor, hugging him.
"We..we had hoped that we could see the children tonight.." She said hesitantly, looking up pleadingly at Sakura. Sakura giggled and motioned the other newcomers in while Tomoyo simply stared at the little boy in her arms, who was now asleep. A certain, midnight-blue eyed young man quickly moved to occupy the space next to her.
"Now, would you like to introduce us to your friends?" Sakura asked softly, sitting down next to Siefa and pulling another little girl into her arms. Siefa looked alarmed and stood up.
"Oh, I am sorry. How impolite of me! These are my sisters, Fanren, Feimei, and Fuutie," Siefa explained, pointing to the girls in turn, as they moved hesitantly into the room. "This is my cousin, Meiling, and these are her friends, Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko." Siefa said. Sakura smiled prettily and patted the space beside her, as she looked up at Meiling. The dark haired girl paused for a split second, before sitting in that spot, though a bit further away than the Princess had intended.
"I am pleased to meet all of you! May I ask..where you work during the day?" Sakura asked hesitantly.
"Kaijuu! That is impolite!" Touya scolded, receiving a glare from his sister.
"I meant no offense! I only wanted to know so I could go and talk to them occasionally. I should like to have other people to talk to." She returned, looking at the others somewhat desperately.
"Oh, we don't mind. Chiharu, Rika, Naoko and I work as serving maids here, and my cousins work as cleaning maids, on the second story." Meiling explained. Sakura's eyes lit up.
"Why, that is my floor! Perhaps I will see you, then! And I always go down to the kitchens to talk with the Head Cook, Martin, so I should see you three as well!" Sakura beamed at Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko, who all looked quite surprised. A princess, going into the kitchens on her own free will? That was unheard of to them! Tomoyo, who had warmed up to these strangers a bit, smiled, and Touya grinned.
"You will get used to Sakura, eventually. She tends to wander around the palace, looking for anything fun or outrageous to do. Once, we caught her sliding down the stair-rails in the front hall, with Yamazaki. Another time, when she was six, she got trapped in the big walk-in ice room (a/n: like a walk in refrigerator or freezer), and when Martin finally found her, she was sitting on a carton of milk, eating away at some strawberry ice- cream and shivering her tail off." Touya chuckled. This made the whole room erupt into laughter, while Sakura blushed profoundly.
"Well, it was your fault! You were the one who pushed me in there and locked the door!" She fired back, making many of the young ladies in the room gasp in delighted horror at his un-princely display. Now it was his turn to blush. In truth, he *had* pushed her in. He had agreed to guard the entrance of the ice-room, while she went in and found some pudding for Kero. Unfortunately, they were not supposed to be in there, and when one of the assistant-cooks walked by, he had gotten frightened and shut the door on her. He had left the kitchens, fully intent on coming back, but when Yukito arrived a few moments later, he forgot all about his sister and went out to ride his horse with his friend. Half an hour later, Martin had found Sakura and the whole palace had been raised into an uproar, lest the little princess became sick.
"Yes, Touya! If you hadn't been so eager to go riding with Yukito, she never would have come down with that horrible cold!" Tomoyo added for good measure. Touya glared at her.
"That is the only time she has ever been sick. The only time, and for the most part, it was her fault for going in there in the first place!" He shot back; the two girls simply giggled even more. Junshi grinned.
"Mou, it sounds like you were a real troublemaker!" He said, looking up at Touya adoringly. Sakura nodded.
"He still is. He just hides it well with company. But when we're alone.."
"Lets just say that you would pity us!" Tomoyo and Sakura chimed at the same time. They grinned at each other and then Tomoyo felt a hand on her arm.
"We could remedy that. I could sweep you away from here, then there would be no more Touya to deal with." A voice whispered in her ear. Tomoyo glared at the young man next to her, trying to keep the shivers of what she thought (a/n: *thought!* hehehehe!!!) was disgust from running down her spine.
"Thank you, but anyplace that you aren't, is a heaven for me, Prince Hiiragizawa." She snapped. He winced and placed a hand over his heart, pretending to be hurt.
"You have wounded me, fair maiden! I shall die now." He moaned, causing Sakura to giggle at his display.
"Oh, I wish you would!" She hissed, getting up and stalking out of the room, with a grinning Eriol trailing closely after her. Touya smiled at his cousin's dilemma, and then looked down at the baby in his arms, who had shifted a bit in her sleep. Siefa, who was seated near him, looked up and smiled at the little bundle of blankets.
"You are very good with children, your highness." She commented, looking down at her lap, where Junshi lay asleep. To Sakura's surprise, she saw a slight blush creep up on her brother's face as he turned his attention back to the baby.
"Well, I had best get to sleep. I am quite tired." Sakura murmured, as her words lagged and her eyelids became heavier. She stood up drowsily and walked out of the room, waving goodbye to the others and wiping her hand across her eyes.
~*~*~*~
"Aren't you tired?" Tomoyo asked with forced politeness, as Eriol caught up with her. He smirked.
"Not really. Are you?" He asked. She simply nodded and looked out on of the windows they were passing. His mind wracked itself for something to do to get her annoyed again.
"You don't look tired, in fact, you look like you could do for a moonlight stroll." He commented, his eyes glinting with mischievousness. She smothered a glare.
"Really, your highness, I am quite tired, and I think that I should be getting to bed." She murmured. His eyes sparkled even more.
"If you hadn't noticed, your rooms are back there. We are heading towards my chambers." He commented slyly. She mentally slapped herself, but kept on walking, determined not to let him know that he had discovered her plan to loose him. She kept walking along with him, down another flight of stairs and through more hallways. She was surprised to find herself feeling quite comfortable in his company, and as soon as she had discovered this, she got even angrier. She was not supposed to be feeling comfortable with him! Or was she?
As her thoughts grew deeper, she failed to realize that they had journeyed outside and deep into one of the vast mazes that resided in the gardens. Unlike many mazes, that were simply made of high shrubs cut into a maze- shape, this one had small, beautiful gardens growing within it, and at the very center was a large, glass gazebo, surrounded by flowers. And off to one side of the gazebo, stood a majestic sakura tree, which Sakura liked to climb up and read in on warm summer days. It was one of Sakura's favorite places to go when her suitors were bothering her too much. Still, Tomoyo had no idea where she was, until:
"My, my, my, Miss Tomoyo! You have such good taste in locations for strolls! I would have never though of coming here!" A voice broke through her thoughts. The first thing she saw when she came out of it, was Prince Eriol grinning at her. Then the light-bulb came on. With a gasp, she gazed around the place she had led him too, and then moaned softly in annoyance.
He grinned. He knew that she hadn't known where she was leading them. He had seen that dreamy look in her eyes, and guessed that she was slightly preoccupied; therefore, he had taken the opportunity to direct her steps towards the difficult maze. Using a bit of his magic, he managed to 'help' them find their way to the very center of the maze. He knew that she didn't travel this way often, and would have a terrible time finding her way out; she knew it as well.
"Prince Hiiragizawa, I really *must* be getting off to bed. I am quite fatigued." She tried, as she edged towards the edge of the path. He smirked.
"Oh, but I am not ready to leave yet! Look at that sky! See how the moon shines?" He asked, pretending to be unaware of her current discomfort. She frowned and looked up into the sky.
"Yes, Prince Hiiragizawa, it is quite nice, but I still.." She was cut off as he moved closer to her, and slid his arm around her waist. A rush of something more than annoyance entered her, and she shied away from him.
"My dear miss Tomoyo, I seem to remember telling you to call me Eriol. I insist." He whispered, his voice a bit deeper. She shivered with what she thought was disgust (a/n: lol!) and tried to pull away.
"Please *Prince Hiiragizawa*, I must insist that we return to the palace now." She said, in a voice just a bit breathier than usual. He grinned, obviously he had gotten the reaction that he wanted, but what that was, she didn't know.
"Fine, my Tomoyo, but I should like to come here again sometime soon, and I hope that you will be my companion during that time." He murmured, taking her arm and leading her out of the maze. They walked back to palace without a word, and he escorted her back to her chambers. At the door, she remembered to be polite and thank him for his *ahem* 'kindness' to her. In return, he kissed her hand softly and left her.
"What on earth was that all about?" She wondered as she entered her bed chamber. 'Perhaps he isn't so bad..NO! Don't think that! He is..just don't go there. He isn't worthy of you.' She thought, as she go into bed, her mind in a twirl.
Meanwhile, Eriol was having some thoughts himself.
'This is getting interesting! First, you get her outraged at you and she slaps you, and now, you get her even more annoyed, but something else is happening as well! She didn't slap you at all, although she had perfect reason too..perhaps the rebel is taming after all! This ought to be fun!' He mussed, as he sat down on his bed to prepare for tomorrow.
~*~*~*~
"So it is settled then. We leave tonight. Have you sent out the message to the other slaves?" Eriol asked softly, when he and Yamazaki had met in his study again the next day. Yamazaki nodded.
"Omata, Miyazawa, and Ukawa went out this morning and left word with all the slaves. They will all be prepared. Plus, Lady Kaho is a deep sleeper, so we should have no trouble smuggling the children out." Yamazaki whispered. Suddenly, another person stepped out of the shadows and glared at the two.
"And how do you expect us to do that? There are too many of them." Xiaolang hissed. Eriol sighed and rolled his eyes.
"We will wake the older ones up, and carry the younger. Now, any questions?" Eriol asked. No one said anything, so Eriol adjourned the meeting and Xiaolang went back to his post in Sakura's chambers.
~*~*~*~
"Something is going to happen, Kero! I can feel it. But I have to figure out what it is on my own!" Sakura insisted, as she stared wide-eyed at her guardian that afternoon. The little beast looked thoughtful and then sighed.
"Fine. Tonight, I will keep an eye on the cards while you try to figure out what is going on. But I swear that if anything happens to you, whatever did it will have to answer to me!" He insisted, causing Sakura to giggle and nod.
~*~*~*~
'What am I going to do? How am I going to get out with Prince Touya sleeping in the next room?' Siefa wondered, as she paced her bed chamber. Unbeknownst to her, Touya stood in the doorway, a serious look on his face.
"You will not have to sneak out, Siefa." He said softly. Siefa shrieked and turned to face him, her hands on her cheeks.
"What? How.." She stammered.
"I just know. I hereby release you from my 'ownership'. You are free to leave whenever they come for you." He whispered. Her face turned joyous, but half-sad.
"Thank you, your highness, I will never forget your kindness." She whispered, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek before she fled the room. Touya stood, dazed for a moment, and then sighed. Life was never going to be the same after this.
~*~*~*~
*that night*
"Is everyone ready?" Eriol whispered, his voice reaching even the furthest people, by magic. Several 'slaves' in the front nodded, and they prepared to leave the ball-room, where they had all met. 'Slaves' filled the room, looking anxiously around them to make sure that no one was coming. One little boy, however, had detached himself from the group and was now standing in a corner of the room, sulking; it was Junshi.
Earlier that day, Eriol had slipped some sleeping powder into the guards drinks, so they were now fast asleep at their posts. The group was still edgy, however.
"Time to go!" Yamazaki hissed, but Eriol had not heard him. The dark-haired boy's attention was on a doorway, not far from where he stood. Eriol raised his hand, and with a slight gust of wind, pulled whatever it was that he had sensed, into the room; it was Tomoyo. Eriol kept her strung in the air, while she struggled with her invisible bonds.
"I should have told! I should have told the moment I overheard you and Yamazaki talking that afternoon, you dirt-born, son-of-a--"
"Really, Tomoyo! Such language!" Eriol chuckled, as though the situation did not bother him. Everyone else was watching the young princess in horror.
"I hate you! I hate you, you useless piece of dung!" She hissed, her eyes filled with something beyond fury. Yes, it was blind hatred. With a sigh, Eriol stepped up to her and looked into her eyes without flinching.
"I am sorry to do this, love, but I cannot have you making such a noise that someone fingers out what we are doing." He whispered in a deadly voice.
Her eyes widened as he pointed two fingers at her forehead. Without a sound, her eyes slid shut and she fell into unconsciousness. There was a sweet, horrified gasp, and Eriol turned towards another doorway, and pointed his two fingers there as well. A cloud of light green slumped to the floor, and Eriol recognized it as Sakura. The little boy who had separated himself from the group, now ran over to her, and put his hand on her unconscious shoulder.
"You hurt Sakura, you meanie! I don't like you either. Sakura was nice!" The little boy hissed. Eriol grinned at his obvious affection for the girl.
"She is only asleep. Xiaolang, if you would carry her, it would make things much easier." Eriol commented. Xiaolang growled but did as he was told. Meanwhile, Siefa want over and herded the boy back into the group.
"I thought you were nice, but now I don't know if I like you anymore." He whispered to her, causing tears to enter her eyes. She quietly explained to him that they were going home, while Eriol did one more once-over and then began to lead the group out of the palace.
"But I don't want to go! I wanna stay wif' Mr. Touya and Nanny! I don't wanna go wif' you! I don't like you! I don't wanna go!" Junshi cried as they walked down the dark street, his sobs stifled in Siefa's dress.
"How long will this take?" Someone called, when they met the other slaves at the edge of the forest.
"Only until we reach a certain place in the forest. Then I shall transport us from there, back to the Li kingdom." He called, as they began to walk into the dense forest, never knowing that they had a certain, very angry Guardian Beast of the Seal on their tales.
'Don't worry, Sakura. I will not let them harm you.' He thought, as he watched his young mistress being carried into the forest.
~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~
Refuge
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 5.
"I can't help but wonder what has gotten into father." Touya sighed, that night. He, Sakura, Tomoyo, Lady Kaho and Nanny were back in the playroom with several of the children who were not asleep. The baby lay in Sakura's arms, this time, and was looking up at her with bleary blue eyes. Little Junshi was again leaning against Touya's knee tiredly. Tomoyo held a little boy of about three in her arms, as his eyelids became heavier and heavier.
"I really don't know. He just hasn't been himself the past few months." Sakura commented, as she rocked Akane. Akane's eyes were now shut, and her breathing was regular. Sakura grinned mischievously and looked toward the door, where several new figures had appeared. Without a word, Sakura slipped the tiny girl into Touya's arms and watched as his face went from shocked, to unsure, then finally to content, as the baby snuggled into his arms and let out a little coo. There was an 'awe!' from the doorway, and the people in the room turned to see several new people standing there, unsure.
"Siefa, hold me!" Junshi murmured, tiredly holding his arms out to her. She entered the room and knelt down on the floor, hugging him.
"We..we had hoped that we could see the children tonight.." She said hesitantly, looking up pleadingly at Sakura. Sakura giggled and motioned the other newcomers in while Tomoyo simply stared at the little boy in her arms, who was now asleep. A certain, midnight-blue eyed young man quickly moved to occupy the space next to her.
"Now, would you like to introduce us to your friends?" Sakura asked softly, sitting down next to Siefa and pulling another little girl into her arms. Siefa looked alarmed and stood up.
"Oh, I am sorry. How impolite of me! These are my sisters, Fanren, Feimei, and Fuutie," Siefa explained, pointing to the girls in turn, as they moved hesitantly into the room. "This is my cousin, Meiling, and these are her friends, Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko." Siefa said. Sakura smiled prettily and patted the space beside her, as she looked up at Meiling. The dark haired girl paused for a split second, before sitting in that spot, though a bit further away than the Princess had intended.
"I am pleased to meet all of you! May I ask..where you work during the day?" Sakura asked hesitantly.
"Kaijuu! That is impolite!" Touya scolded, receiving a glare from his sister.
"I meant no offense! I only wanted to know so I could go and talk to them occasionally. I should like to have other people to talk to." She returned, looking at the others somewhat desperately.
"Oh, we don't mind. Chiharu, Rika, Naoko and I work as serving maids here, and my cousins work as cleaning maids, on the second story." Meiling explained. Sakura's eyes lit up.
"Why, that is my floor! Perhaps I will see you, then! And I always go down to the kitchens to talk with the Head Cook, Martin, so I should see you three as well!" Sakura beamed at Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko, who all looked quite surprised. A princess, going into the kitchens on her own free will? That was unheard of to them! Tomoyo, who had warmed up to these strangers a bit, smiled, and Touya grinned.
"You will get used to Sakura, eventually. She tends to wander around the palace, looking for anything fun or outrageous to do. Once, we caught her sliding down the stair-rails in the front hall, with Yamazaki. Another time, when she was six, she got trapped in the big walk-in ice room (a/n: like a walk in refrigerator or freezer), and when Martin finally found her, she was sitting on a carton of milk, eating away at some strawberry ice- cream and shivering her tail off." Touya chuckled. This made the whole room erupt into laughter, while Sakura blushed profoundly.
"Well, it was your fault! You were the one who pushed me in there and locked the door!" She fired back, making many of the young ladies in the room gasp in delighted horror at his un-princely display. Now it was his turn to blush. In truth, he *had* pushed her in. He had agreed to guard the entrance of the ice-room, while she went in and found some pudding for Kero. Unfortunately, they were not supposed to be in there, and when one of the assistant-cooks walked by, he had gotten frightened and shut the door on her. He had left the kitchens, fully intent on coming back, but when Yukito arrived a few moments later, he forgot all about his sister and went out to ride his horse with his friend. Half an hour later, Martin had found Sakura and the whole palace had been raised into an uproar, lest the little princess became sick.
"Yes, Touya! If you hadn't been so eager to go riding with Yukito, she never would have come down with that horrible cold!" Tomoyo added for good measure. Touya glared at her.
"That is the only time she has ever been sick. The only time, and for the most part, it was her fault for going in there in the first place!" He shot back; the two girls simply giggled even more. Junshi grinned.
"Mou, it sounds like you were a real troublemaker!" He said, looking up at Touya adoringly. Sakura nodded.
"He still is. He just hides it well with company. But when we're alone.."
"Lets just say that you would pity us!" Tomoyo and Sakura chimed at the same time. They grinned at each other and then Tomoyo felt a hand on her arm.
"We could remedy that. I could sweep you away from here, then there would be no more Touya to deal with." A voice whispered in her ear. Tomoyo glared at the young man next to her, trying to keep the shivers of what she thought (a/n: *thought!* hehehehe!!!) was disgust from running down her spine.
"Thank you, but anyplace that you aren't, is a heaven for me, Prince Hiiragizawa." She snapped. He winced and placed a hand over his heart, pretending to be hurt.
"You have wounded me, fair maiden! I shall die now." He moaned, causing Sakura to giggle at his display.
"Oh, I wish you would!" She hissed, getting up and stalking out of the room, with a grinning Eriol trailing closely after her. Touya smiled at his cousin's dilemma, and then looked down at the baby in his arms, who had shifted a bit in her sleep. Siefa, who was seated near him, looked up and smiled at the little bundle of blankets.
"You are very good with children, your highness." She commented, looking down at her lap, where Junshi lay asleep. To Sakura's surprise, she saw a slight blush creep up on her brother's face as he turned his attention back to the baby.
"Well, I had best get to sleep. I am quite tired." Sakura murmured, as her words lagged and her eyelids became heavier. She stood up drowsily and walked out of the room, waving goodbye to the others and wiping her hand across her eyes.
~*~*~*~
"Aren't you tired?" Tomoyo asked with forced politeness, as Eriol caught up with her. He smirked.
"Not really. Are you?" He asked. She simply nodded and looked out on of the windows they were passing. His mind wracked itself for something to do to get her annoyed again.
"You don't look tired, in fact, you look like you could do for a moonlight stroll." He commented, his eyes glinting with mischievousness. She smothered a glare.
"Really, your highness, I am quite tired, and I think that I should be getting to bed." She murmured. His eyes sparkled even more.
"If you hadn't noticed, your rooms are back there. We are heading towards my chambers." He commented slyly. She mentally slapped herself, but kept on walking, determined not to let him know that he had discovered her plan to loose him. She kept walking along with him, down another flight of stairs and through more hallways. She was surprised to find herself feeling quite comfortable in his company, and as soon as she had discovered this, she got even angrier. She was not supposed to be feeling comfortable with him! Or was she?
As her thoughts grew deeper, she failed to realize that they had journeyed outside and deep into one of the vast mazes that resided in the gardens. Unlike many mazes, that were simply made of high shrubs cut into a maze- shape, this one had small, beautiful gardens growing within it, and at the very center was a large, glass gazebo, surrounded by flowers. And off to one side of the gazebo, stood a majestic sakura tree, which Sakura liked to climb up and read in on warm summer days. It was one of Sakura's favorite places to go when her suitors were bothering her too much. Still, Tomoyo had no idea where she was, until:
"My, my, my, Miss Tomoyo! You have such good taste in locations for strolls! I would have never though of coming here!" A voice broke through her thoughts. The first thing she saw when she came out of it, was Prince Eriol grinning at her. Then the light-bulb came on. With a gasp, she gazed around the place she had led him too, and then moaned softly in annoyance.
He grinned. He knew that she hadn't known where she was leading them. He had seen that dreamy look in her eyes, and guessed that she was slightly preoccupied; therefore, he had taken the opportunity to direct her steps towards the difficult maze. Using a bit of his magic, he managed to 'help' them find their way to the very center of the maze. He knew that she didn't travel this way often, and would have a terrible time finding her way out; she knew it as well.
"Prince Hiiragizawa, I really *must* be getting off to bed. I am quite fatigued." She tried, as she edged towards the edge of the path. He smirked.
"Oh, but I am not ready to leave yet! Look at that sky! See how the moon shines?" He asked, pretending to be unaware of her current discomfort. She frowned and looked up into the sky.
"Yes, Prince Hiiragizawa, it is quite nice, but I still.." She was cut off as he moved closer to her, and slid his arm around her waist. A rush of something more than annoyance entered her, and she shied away from him.
"My dear miss Tomoyo, I seem to remember telling you to call me Eriol. I insist." He whispered, his voice a bit deeper. She shivered with what she thought was disgust (a/n: lol!) and tried to pull away.
"Please *Prince Hiiragizawa*, I must insist that we return to the palace now." She said, in a voice just a bit breathier than usual. He grinned, obviously he had gotten the reaction that he wanted, but what that was, she didn't know.
"Fine, my Tomoyo, but I should like to come here again sometime soon, and I hope that you will be my companion during that time." He murmured, taking her arm and leading her out of the maze. They walked back to palace without a word, and he escorted her back to her chambers. At the door, she remembered to be polite and thank him for his *ahem* 'kindness' to her. In return, he kissed her hand softly and left her.
"What on earth was that all about?" She wondered as she entered her bed chamber. 'Perhaps he isn't so bad..NO! Don't think that! He is..just don't go there. He isn't worthy of you.' She thought, as she go into bed, her mind in a twirl.
Meanwhile, Eriol was having some thoughts himself.
'This is getting interesting! First, you get her outraged at you and she slaps you, and now, you get her even more annoyed, but something else is happening as well! She didn't slap you at all, although she had perfect reason too..perhaps the rebel is taming after all! This ought to be fun!' He mussed, as he sat down on his bed to prepare for tomorrow.
~*~*~*~
"So it is settled then. We leave tonight. Have you sent out the message to the other slaves?" Eriol asked softly, when he and Yamazaki had met in his study again the next day. Yamazaki nodded.
"Omata, Miyazawa, and Ukawa went out this morning and left word with all the slaves. They will all be prepared. Plus, Lady Kaho is a deep sleeper, so we should have no trouble smuggling the children out." Yamazaki whispered. Suddenly, another person stepped out of the shadows and glared at the two.
"And how do you expect us to do that? There are too many of them." Xiaolang hissed. Eriol sighed and rolled his eyes.
"We will wake the older ones up, and carry the younger. Now, any questions?" Eriol asked. No one said anything, so Eriol adjourned the meeting and Xiaolang went back to his post in Sakura's chambers.
~*~*~*~
"Something is going to happen, Kero! I can feel it. But I have to figure out what it is on my own!" Sakura insisted, as she stared wide-eyed at her guardian that afternoon. The little beast looked thoughtful and then sighed.
"Fine. Tonight, I will keep an eye on the cards while you try to figure out what is going on. But I swear that if anything happens to you, whatever did it will have to answer to me!" He insisted, causing Sakura to giggle and nod.
~*~*~*~
'What am I going to do? How am I going to get out with Prince Touya sleeping in the next room?' Siefa wondered, as she paced her bed chamber. Unbeknownst to her, Touya stood in the doorway, a serious look on his face.
"You will not have to sneak out, Siefa." He said softly. Siefa shrieked and turned to face him, her hands on her cheeks.
"What? How.." She stammered.
"I just know. I hereby release you from my 'ownership'. You are free to leave whenever they come for you." He whispered. Her face turned joyous, but half-sad.
"Thank you, your highness, I will never forget your kindness." She whispered, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek before she fled the room. Touya stood, dazed for a moment, and then sighed. Life was never going to be the same after this.
~*~*~*~
*that night*
"Is everyone ready?" Eriol whispered, his voice reaching even the furthest people, by magic. Several 'slaves' in the front nodded, and they prepared to leave the ball-room, where they had all met. 'Slaves' filled the room, looking anxiously around them to make sure that no one was coming. One little boy, however, had detached himself from the group and was now standing in a corner of the room, sulking; it was Junshi.
Earlier that day, Eriol had slipped some sleeping powder into the guards drinks, so they were now fast asleep at their posts. The group was still edgy, however.
"Time to go!" Yamazaki hissed, but Eriol had not heard him. The dark-haired boy's attention was on a doorway, not far from where he stood. Eriol raised his hand, and with a slight gust of wind, pulled whatever it was that he had sensed, into the room; it was Tomoyo. Eriol kept her strung in the air, while she struggled with her invisible bonds.
"I should have told! I should have told the moment I overheard you and Yamazaki talking that afternoon, you dirt-born, son-of-a--"
"Really, Tomoyo! Such language!" Eriol chuckled, as though the situation did not bother him. Everyone else was watching the young princess in horror.
"I hate you! I hate you, you useless piece of dung!" She hissed, her eyes filled with something beyond fury. Yes, it was blind hatred. With a sigh, Eriol stepped up to her and looked into her eyes without flinching.
"I am sorry to do this, love, but I cannot have you making such a noise that someone fingers out what we are doing." He whispered in a deadly voice.
Her eyes widened as he pointed two fingers at her forehead. Without a sound, her eyes slid shut and she fell into unconsciousness. There was a sweet, horrified gasp, and Eriol turned towards another doorway, and pointed his two fingers there as well. A cloud of light green slumped to the floor, and Eriol recognized it as Sakura. The little boy who had separated himself from the group, now ran over to her, and put his hand on her unconscious shoulder.
"You hurt Sakura, you meanie! I don't like you either. Sakura was nice!" The little boy hissed. Eriol grinned at his obvious affection for the girl.
"She is only asleep. Xiaolang, if you would carry her, it would make things much easier." Eriol commented. Xiaolang growled but did as he was told. Meanwhile, Siefa want over and herded the boy back into the group.
"I thought you were nice, but now I don't know if I like you anymore." He whispered to her, causing tears to enter her eyes. She quietly explained to him that they were going home, while Eriol did one more once-over and then began to lead the group out of the palace.
"But I don't want to go! I wanna stay wif' Mr. Touya and Nanny! I don't wanna go wif' you! I don't like you! I don't wanna go!" Junshi cried as they walked down the dark street, his sobs stifled in Siefa's dress.
"How long will this take?" Someone called, when they met the other slaves at the edge of the forest.
"Only until we reach a certain place in the forest. Then I shall transport us from there, back to the Li kingdom." He called, as they began to walk into the dense forest, never knowing that they had a certain, very angry Guardian Beast of the Seal on their tales.
'Don't worry, Sakura. I will not let them harm you.' He thought, as he watched his young mistress being carried into the forest.
~*~*~*~