Ice Jayden: I do NOT own Card Captor Sakura in any way, shape, or form. I just like to use the characters in strange plots that my mind concocts.
Cast In Stone
The Dead Garden
A scream pierced the night air as a castle burned from the attack. People were fighting everywhere as a lone man sat upon his large black steed holding a young sorceress captive. She was the one who had screamed only for the man to silence her with a quick spell, for he too was a powerful magic user.
He watched the battle for a few more minutes before he turned his horse upon its hunches and kicked it into a fast gallop. He used his magic to open the ominous looking portal gate that he rode towards to transport him to his own castle. He was the Emperor of all of Asia.
After he had crossed through the portal he rode into the inner courtyard of his palace. He dismounted gracefully and allowed a young squire to take his mount away to the stables.
He then proceeded to drag his hostage into the castle and into the gardens. Pulling out a pair of handcuffs he chained her to the statue of a young winged warrior and then left her. Realization of her inability to escape blossomed on the young girls face as she discovered that the cuff also restrained her from using any magic.
Sakura could feel her entire being shaking in fear at being captured by the Asian Emperor. Slowly she calmed her nerves and looked at the garden she had been left in. Half dead flowers were scattered amongst the flower beds where thistles and stinging nettles seemed to flourish. Other statues of winged figures were scattered about the garden, but all of them were lying on the ground with their faces contorted in pain.
She felt her heart sicken at the sight of the garden that seemed to push away anything beautiful and good. In fact the only thing that looked somewhat nice was the statue that she had been cuffed to. Its face was impassionate and a bit cold, but at least it was upright and was actually somewhat beautiful to her.
She continued to look upon the statue and noticed that the artist must have put a lot of effort into it as the details were so fine as to include the texture of the warrior's skin. Looking at the other statues in the garden she determined they were crafted with the same amount of skill. It saddened her to think how someone could have such talent and use it to create something that looked so tortured.
Her eyes moved back to the statue of the warrior that the other handcuff was attached to. In one hand he held a sword and he was standing in a warrior stance. His clothes were strange, but looked like something she would see out of one of her history books on the once prosperous Chinese Kingdom that had been destroyed about a thousand years ago by the Empire that had recently taken her prisoner.
Her eyes then strayed to a statue of a young girl; she appeared no more than ten years old. Her mouth was open as though she was screaming, eyes were squinted shut in a pained expression, and one could even see the tears on the statues cheeks. Every statue was so real looking that it tore Sakura's heart to see, even in just statues, the faces contorted in pain.
With a bit of difficulty she tore her eyes away from the child statue and began examining a patch of wilting roses. Half the petals lay on the ground by the stems of the plants and all of them were browning. The color that was left on some of the petals seemed dull and lifeless. No longer able to bear to look at the dying plants she found herself once again examining the statue she was attached to. It was the only thing in the garden that did not radiate pain and death. All of the features were finely chiseled. She could see every fiber in each of the feathers on his wings and his sword had beautiful ornate carvings in the handle. She noticed that he was actually handsome, although she felt that it was somewhat marred by the sternness of his expression. The statue's hair was messy and had the appearance, along with the Chinese robes he wore, of being in an intense battle.
She had never in her entire life seen such immaculate details in any statue before. She halfway felt that at any moment the stone would change to living flesh. His wings were spread out behind his back as though reaching for the sky; they looked like an enlarged version of an eagle's wings. Looking upon the other statues she noticed that all their wings seem to be designed to resemble different types of birds' wings.
Lost in her thoughts about the various statues in the garden and the details, she did not notice that her captor had returned. He gave a slight smirk before he broke the silence. "So you like the beauty of the gardens." He said it as though it were a fact.
Sakura jumped from the suddenness of the intrusion of her thoughts by the young man. "I do not think this place is beautiful, it looks more like a deserted graveyard." She put as much dislike for the place she found herself in and him in her voice as she could manage.
"Yes, I suppose you could call it that. But it is a rather magnificent graveyard nonetheless." His icy eyes bore into Sakura and she felt a shiver run down her spine. A soft "hoe" passed her lips as she felt goose bumps form. She was in a graveyard and she felt herself tensing up in fear.
"Do not worry, they are truly dead, they cannot rise again. Their souls are destroyed in the spell that binds their bodies in stone. Their existence is only a thing of days long past. A very painful way to die, as I am sure you have noticed; although the wings that my great grandmother had added suits the dead quite nicely."
Sakura desperately wanted to get away from the man and this horrendous place. With horror she realized that she was chained to the stone form of a dead person. It was about as bad as facing a ghost. A loud piercing scream once again parted from Sakura's throat and broke the silence.
When she stopped screaming her throat was throbbing in pain. She then heard him laughing; it was an evil laugh that delighted in her fear. Amusement was clear on his face as he once again addressed her, "Do not worry, you will not become one of them. You are destined to be my Empress. Together we shall rule the world. There are only a few armies from the remaining Kingdoms to dispose of."
Sakura tried her best to stay composed in front of the young Emperor and replied in a slightly hoarse voice, "I will NEVER be yours." Her emerald eyes flashed in her annoyance and anger with him.
"Well, I'm certain that you will be mine soon." He slowly walked up to Sakura. He placed his one hand on the chain the linked the cuffs and chanted a spell. Sakura watched as the chain disappeared. "Now, my little Princess, you can move in any direction 50 meters. That is just enough to include your room. I would link you to me, but then I would not be able to go anywhere without you. It is impossible to remove with any magic other than my own, and there is no lock to pick on the cuff. I will now show you to your quarters." He then grabbed Sakura's hand and led her to a room that was right next to the gardens. Inside the room it was dark and gloomy. Decorated in black and dark grays, it felt cold and detached from life. A bathroom was accessible from her quarters.
She watched as the horrendous man who was the emperor departed her quarters. As he reached the door and turned around, "The maids will bring you your meals, my precious little Princess." He then turned on a heel and left the room.
Sakura didn't know what was worse, her room or the garden graveyard. Just thinking of that horrid place sent a chill down her spine. Remembering the little girl she had seen she felt a great amount of sympathy for those who had had their lives cut short in such a painful manner.
Touya was absolutely furious. His little sister had been captured by that insane and powerful Emperor. He needed to get her back. He quickly started to formulate a plan with what little knowledge he had of the Emperor's palace. He would need the help of Yue and Kero, but they would most definitely be willing to help since it is their Mistress that was captured by the vile man.
The only problem is that to use the portal would immediately give their presence away. They would simply have to go there without magic. It would take much longer, which infuriated Touya, but dramatically increase their chances of rescuing her. He was always receiving comments on his stealth capabilities and his sixth sense that always let him know where Sakura was. And she was way too far away from him for his liking and in the hands of the enemy. He was determined that no matter what, he would rescue his little sister.
Sakura found herself spending the first few days in her captivity trying to clean up the gardens a bit. She pulled weeds and used water from her sink to nurture the dying flowers. The only hard part for her was seeing the statues and knowing that at one time they had been living people. The suffering evident on the stone faces continuously brought tears to Sakura's eyes. Her heart was continuously going out to the little girl statue. It pained her to see the torture on such a young face from her dying moments that were captured in stone.
She would continuously look at the one statue that she was linked to with the cuffs. The handsome young boy who had died and yet remained strong, facing his enemies without allowing them the sickening pleasure of hearing him scream in pain in his final moments. She often found herself looking at him and taking courage from the courage she knew he must have had. From his stubborn strength she found that she too could be strong in the face of so many tormented souls.
She had figured that a large part of the reason she had been attached to the gardens was to slowly break down her resolve. She wished that she had her cards with her so that she could escape this dreary place. But then again, the cuff that was forcing her to remain a resident of this place also prevented her from using any of her powers. She could do nothing but try to remain strong as her heart was constantly being torn to pieces by simply being in such a horrendous place.
As each moment passed by she became more desperate and found herself slowly loosing hope that she would ever be able to see those she loved again. She had even started to miss how Touya called her a Kaijuu. She wondered how her family and friends had been since her capture. Were they still alive and healthy or had they become victims of the war.
It had been a few days since she had seen the young Emperor which was a slight relief to Sakura. Unfortunately it could not last much longer. As Sakura sat pulling weeds away from a patch of dying flowers she felt her captor approach her.
He stood near the edge of the garden just watching as Sakura attempted to bring some of the bright vitality of the garden back. She struggled so hard to bring life back to the dead gardens that he had a hard time stifling a chuckle in amusement. As far as he was concerned her efforts were all in vain. These gardens had lost there true life when the first statue of a corpse was placed in its midst. At least that is what his family said. He did not even know which of the statues was the first; who was the first one to have died.
Sakura stubbornly ignored his presence and continued to work on the removal of obstinate weeds. Unconsciously she moved towards the warrior statue; taking comfort in the shadow of the determined and courageous boy. As she studiously removed the undesired plants the Emperor approached her.
"Do you like this place now?" His question carried no warmth in it and Sakura found herself unable to continue to ignore his presence. Looking up into his dark eyes that seemed to suck the life out of everything he lays his eyes upon; she felt her resolve slowly die. After all, how could she, a mere princess, possible stand up to the most powerful person to ever live?
"No." It was all she could manage to croak out and she had to divert her gaze from him. She looked at the statue she stood under and took comfort in the courage that seemed to radiate from him. In a garden that was filled with death and despair, it was like a beacon of light that warmed her soul.
Having gathered her wits about herself once more she met the Emperor's gaze with defiance. "So you take courage from those who were not strong enough to survive now." She didn't really know how to respond to this. He was simply stating the truth. "You will be mine; it is only a matter of time. You will be my Cherry Blossom."
"I said I will never be yours." She put as much certainty into her voice as she could manage. Without realizing it she had grasped the empty hand of the warrior statue and was using it for moral support. As the young Emperor continued to stare into Sakura's eyes she tightened her grip and stared back in defiance.
"I like your spirit, but it is only a matter of time before your resolve breaks and then you will be mine." Sakura felt everything go cold as he predicted her crumpling eventually under the pressure of the dreary atmosphere. She watched as his gaze shifted to the statue she was clinging to before speaking again. "The dead cannot save you from your fate; they had their time to live and are now dead."
With an air of indifference in his stance, the Emperor left Sakura alone in the garden once again. She breathed out a sigh of relief and then started to cry. She desperately missed her friends and family and she didn't know how much longer she could stand to stay in this horrid place before her spirit broke. She clung desperately to the warrior statue as the tears streamed down her face.
The immediate area around her statue was where the flowers were starting to live again. It was where she had begun her gardening efforts. The peonies near his feet were thriving; they seemed to have just been waiting for her to remove the weeds. The other flowers were slightly revitalized but seemed to need more time to recover still. She kept a distance in her gardening efforts from all the other statues because her weary mind could not stand to look at them close up. They crushed her spirit whereas the warrior reinforced her ability to stand up to the horror of the dead garden.
It was another week before she saw the arrogant Emperor again. He approached her with a wicked grin spread across his face. His eyes spoke of hate and his desire to torture everything within his grasp. Sakura could feel tension building between them as she waited for him to speak. They both stood in the garden listening to the plants brush against one another in the slight breeze.
After a short time he finally broke the silence, "I have a special gift for you." He glanced at one of the garden entrances and gestured for whoever was there to come in.
Two guards entered dragging someone else into the garden. His dark brown hair and face were covered in dirt and his once piercing blue eyes were dull. Sakura let out an inadvertent gasp as she recognized the prisoner before her. It was her fiancé, the man she loved more than anything else.
Before Sakura could say or do anything the Emperor had cast a spell upon her beloved. He was dropped immediately by the guards as he started to flail about on the ground in pain. Sakura could feel is aura, though it was never as strong as her own, tear into pieces. He began screaming as the pain became too great for him to withhold it any longer. To her horror, she could do nothing as she watched and through her magic senses, which were not dimmed by the magic restraining cuff, felt him slowly die. It was more horrible than anything she had ever seen before, not only had he died and turned to stone, his spirit was destroyed.
She felt the tears running down her cheeks and realized that she had been crying. She felt like her heart was torn into tiny pieces and trampled by the horrid man who had captured her. Her mournful reverie was interrupted by the one who had so quickly destroyed her life. "You are no longer engaged. It is only a small amount of time before you shall be my Empress. I have arranged the marriage to take place in two weeks." Shocked by what she had recently witnessed and the sudden revelation, Sakura slowly sank to the ground as the Emperor once again left her by herself in the dreary garden that had a new statue added to its already daunting collection.
She slowly crumpled up on the ground and slowly cried herself to sleep. It was dark when she woke up. She had never been in the garden after dark before and she found all of her nerves on edge. In the moonlight she could see all of the statues seeming to call out to her in agony; the wind was howling through the garden. Magic filled the air and allowed Sakura to see different people cast into stone.
The first image she saw was of her own beloved Norio, it was very painful to watch her love die before her eyes again. The next image was of two young girls and a boy. They were crying for mercy as someone caste the evil spell. They howled in pain and begged to be forgiven. She recognized them and realized that they must have been brought to this place because they were in some sort of stone room when they turned to stone.
The girl around ten was the next scene; she was crying for her mother. A young lady stood before her with a wicked grin on her face right as she cast the spell on her. Her crying increased in volume and her legs gave out beneath her. She screamed in agony as she died and her body turned to stone. Sakura wanted to help her and felt herself crying for the people who had died. Through the night Sakura saw in visions of the various statues ending moments. Each time it happened in a different place and a different person was the caster of the spell.
As morning approached she had her last glimpse of the past. She saw the young warrior breathing heavily as he fought with three other warrior and a sorcerer. As he was fighting a sorceress appeared from behind and caste the horrid spell on him. He stumbled slightly as the waves of pain hit him. He clenched his jaw and put himself in a defensive position as he wearily watched his enemies who had withdrawn from their attack. His aura was bright and tried to fight the spell furiously but in the end he ended up in stone like all the others she had seen.
As the last vision faded she slowly rose as up as the rays of the rising sun began to warm the air. Having seen all of the statues as the human they once were in the last moments of their existence made it harder for the Sorceress to stay in the garden of the dead. As she looked about she saw each of the statues as they once were. Her beloved looked slightly out of place in the garden because he was the only one without wings. She strangely wondered if wings would one day adorn his back.
To Be Continued...
Hopefully I'll be able to get this updated sooner than later.
Thanks for reading, Please R&R, I appreciate it knowing what the readers think of my ideas and how I present them in the story.
Cast In Stone
The Dead Garden
A scream pierced the night air as a castle burned from the attack. People were fighting everywhere as a lone man sat upon his large black steed holding a young sorceress captive. She was the one who had screamed only for the man to silence her with a quick spell, for he too was a powerful magic user.
He watched the battle for a few more minutes before he turned his horse upon its hunches and kicked it into a fast gallop. He used his magic to open the ominous looking portal gate that he rode towards to transport him to his own castle. He was the Emperor of all of Asia.
After he had crossed through the portal he rode into the inner courtyard of his palace. He dismounted gracefully and allowed a young squire to take his mount away to the stables.
He then proceeded to drag his hostage into the castle and into the gardens. Pulling out a pair of handcuffs he chained her to the statue of a young winged warrior and then left her. Realization of her inability to escape blossomed on the young girls face as she discovered that the cuff also restrained her from using any magic.
Sakura could feel her entire being shaking in fear at being captured by the Asian Emperor. Slowly she calmed her nerves and looked at the garden she had been left in. Half dead flowers were scattered amongst the flower beds where thistles and stinging nettles seemed to flourish. Other statues of winged figures were scattered about the garden, but all of them were lying on the ground with their faces contorted in pain.
She felt her heart sicken at the sight of the garden that seemed to push away anything beautiful and good. In fact the only thing that looked somewhat nice was the statue that she had been cuffed to. Its face was impassionate and a bit cold, but at least it was upright and was actually somewhat beautiful to her.
She continued to look upon the statue and noticed that the artist must have put a lot of effort into it as the details were so fine as to include the texture of the warrior's skin. Looking at the other statues in the garden she determined they were crafted with the same amount of skill. It saddened her to think how someone could have such talent and use it to create something that looked so tortured.
Her eyes moved back to the statue of the warrior that the other handcuff was attached to. In one hand he held a sword and he was standing in a warrior stance. His clothes were strange, but looked like something she would see out of one of her history books on the once prosperous Chinese Kingdom that had been destroyed about a thousand years ago by the Empire that had recently taken her prisoner.
Her eyes then strayed to a statue of a young girl; she appeared no more than ten years old. Her mouth was open as though she was screaming, eyes were squinted shut in a pained expression, and one could even see the tears on the statues cheeks. Every statue was so real looking that it tore Sakura's heart to see, even in just statues, the faces contorted in pain.
With a bit of difficulty she tore her eyes away from the child statue and began examining a patch of wilting roses. Half the petals lay on the ground by the stems of the plants and all of them were browning. The color that was left on some of the petals seemed dull and lifeless. No longer able to bear to look at the dying plants she found herself once again examining the statue she was attached to. It was the only thing in the garden that did not radiate pain and death. All of the features were finely chiseled. She could see every fiber in each of the feathers on his wings and his sword had beautiful ornate carvings in the handle. She noticed that he was actually handsome, although she felt that it was somewhat marred by the sternness of his expression. The statue's hair was messy and had the appearance, along with the Chinese robes he wore, of being in an intense battle.
She had never in her entire life seen such immaculate details in any statue before. She halfway felt that at any moment the stone would change to living flesh. His wings were spread out behind his back as though reaching for the sky; they looked like an enlarged version of an eagle's wings. Looking upon the other statues she noticed that all their wings seem to be designed to resemble different types of birds' wings.
Lost in her thoughts about the various statues in the garden and the details, she did not notice that her captor had returned. He gave a slight smirk before he broke the silence. "So you like the beauty of the gardens." He said it as though it were a fact.
Sakura jumped from the suddenness of the intrusion of her thoughts by the young man. "I do not think this place is beautiful, it looks more like a deserted graveyard." She put as much dislike for the place she found herself in and him in her voice as she could manage.
"Yes, I suppose you could call it that. But it is a rather magnificent graveyard nonetheless." His icy eyes bore into Sakura and she felt a shiver run down her spine. A soft "hoe" passed her lips as she felt goose bumps form. She was in a graveyard and she felt herself tensing up in fear.
"Do not worry, they are truly dead, they cannot rise again. Their souls are destroyed in the spell that binds their bodies in stone. Their existence is only a thing of days long past. A very painful way to die, as I am sure you have noticed; although the wings that my great grandmother had added suits the dead quite nicely."
Sakura desperately wanted to get away from the man and this horrendous place. With horror she realized that she was chained to the stone form of a dead person. It was about as bad as facing a ghost. A loud piercing scream once again parted from Sakura's throat and broke the silence.
When she stopped screaming her throat was throbbing in pain. She then heard him laughing; it was an evil laugh that delighted in her fear. Amusement was clear on his face as he once again addressed her, "Do not worry, you will not become one of them. You are destined to be my Empress. Together we shall rule the world. There are only a few armies from the remaining Kingdoms to dispose of."
Sakura tried her best to stay composed in front of the young Emperor and replied in a slightly hoarse voice, "I will NEVER be yours." Her emerald eyes flashed in her annoyance and anger with him.
"Well, I'm certain that you will be mine soon." He slowly walked up to Sakura. He placed his one hand on the chain the linked the cuffs and chanted a spell. Sakura watched as the chain disappeared. "Now, my little Princess, you can move in any direction 50 meters. That is just enough to include your room. I would link you to me, but then I would not be able to go anywhere without you. It is impossible to remove with any magic other than my own, and there is no lock to pick on the cuff. I will now show you to your quarters." He then grabbed Sakura's hand and led her to a room that was right next to the gardens. Inside the room it was dark and gloomy. Decorated in black and dark grays, it felt cold and detached from life. A bathroom was accessible from her quarters.
She watched as the horrendous man who was the emperor departed her quarters. As he reached the door and turned around, "The maids will bring you your meals, my precious little Princess." He then turned on a heel and left the room.
Sakura didn't know what was worse, her room or the garden graveyard. Just thinking of that horrid place sent a chill down her spine. Remembering the little girl she had seen she felt a great amount of sympathy for those who had had their lives cut short in such a painful manner.
Touya was absolutely furious. His little sister had been captured by that insane and powerful Emperor. He needed to get her back. He quickly started to formulate a plan with what little knowledge he had of the Emperor's palace. He would need the help of Yue and Kero, but they would most definitely be willing to help since it is their Mistress that was captured by the vile man.
The only problem is that to use the portal would immediately give their presence away. They would simply have to go there without magic. It would take much longer, which infuriated Touya, but dramatically increase their chances of rescuing her. He was always receiving comments on his stealth capabilities and his sixth sense that always let him know where Sakura was. And she was way too far away from him for his liking and in the hands of the enemy. He was determined that no matter what, he would rescue his little sister.
Sakura found herself spending the first few days in her captivity trying to clean up the gardens a bit. She pulled weeds and used water from her sink to nurture the dying flowers. The only hard part for her was seeing the statues and knowing that at one time they had been living people. The suffering evident on the stone faces continuously brought tears to Sakura's eyes. Her heart was continuously going out to the little girl statue. It pained her to see the torture on such a young face from her dying moments that were captured in stone.
She would continuously look at the one statue that she was linked to with the cuffs. The handsome young boy who had died and yet remained strong, facing his enemies without allowing them the sickening pleasure of hearing him scream in pain in his final moments. She often found herself looking at him and taking courage from the courage she knew he must have had. From his stubborn strength she found that she too could be strong in the face of so many tormented souls.
She had figured that a large part of the reason she had been attached to the gardens was to slowly break down her resolve. She wished that she had her cards with her so that she could escape this dreary place. But then again, the cuff that was forcing her to remain a resident of this place also prevented her from using any of her powers. She could do nothing but try to remain strong as her heart was constantly being torn to pieces by simply being in such a horrendous place.
As each moment passed by she became more desperate and found herself slowly loosing hope that she would ever be able to see those she loved again. She had even started to miss how Touya called her a Kaijuu. She wondered how her family and friends had been since her capture. Were they still alive and healthy or had they become victims of the war.
It had been a few days since she had seen the young Emperor which was a slight relief to Sakura. Unfortunately it could not last much longer. As Sakura sat pulling weeds away from a patch of dying flowers she felt her captor approach her.
He stood near the edge of the garden just watching as Sakura attempted to bring some of the bright vitality of the garden back. She struggled so hard to bring life back to the dead gardens that he had a hard time stifling a chuckle in amusement. As far as he was concerned her efforts were all in vain. These gardens had lost there true life when the first statue of a corpse was placed in its midst. At least that is what his family said. He did not even know which of the statues was the first; who was the first one to have died.
Sakura stubbornly ignored his presence and continued to work on the removal of obstinate weeds. Unconsciously she moved towards the warrior statue; taking comfort in the shadow of the determined and courageous boy. As she studiously removed the undesired plants the Emperor approached her.
"Do you like this place now?" His question carried no warmth in it and Sakura found herself unable to continue to ignore his presence. Looking up into his dark eyes that seemed to suck the life out of everything he lays his eyes upon; she felt her resolve slowly die. After all, how could she, a mere princess, possible stand up to the most powerful person to ever live?
"No." It was all she could manage to croak out and she had to divert her gaze from him. She looked at the statue she stood under and took comfort in the courage that seemed to radiate from him. In a garden that was filled with death and despair, it was like a beacon of light that warmed her soul.
Having gathered her wits about herself once more she met the Emperor's gaze with defiance. "So you take courage from those who were not strong enough to survive now." She didn't really know how to respond to this. He was simply stating the truth. "You will be mine; it is only a matter of time. You will be my Cherry Blossom."
"I said I will never be yours." She put as much certainty into her voice as she could manage. Without realizing it she had grasped the empty hand of the warrior statue and was using it for moral support. As the young Emperor continued to stare into Sakura's eyes she tightened her grip and stared back in defiance.
"I like your spirit, but it is only a matter of time before your resolve breaks and then you will be mine." Sakura felt everything go cold as he predicted her crumpling eventually under the pressure of the dreary atmosphere. She watched as his gaze shifted to the statue she was clinging to before speaking again. "The dead cannot save you from your fate; they had their time to live and are now dead."
With an air of indifference in his stance, the Emperor left Sakura alone in the garden once again. She breathed out a sigh of relief and then started to cry. She desperately missed her friends and family and she didn't know how much longer she could stand to stay in this horrid place before her spirit broke. She clung desperately to the warrior statue as the tears streamed down her face.
The immediate area around her statue was where the flowers were starting to live again. It was where she had begun her gardening efforts. The peonies near his feet were thriving; they seemed to have just been waiting for her to remove the weeds. The other flowers were slightly revitalized but seemed to need more time to recover still. She kept a distance in her gardening efforts from all the other statues because her weary mind could not stand to look at them close up. They crushed her spirit whereas the warrior reinforced her ability to stand up to the horror of the dead garden.
It was another week before she saw the arrogant Emperor again. He approached her with a wicked grin spread across his face. His eyes spoke of hate and his desire to torture everything within his grasp. Sakura could feel tension building between them as she waited for him to speak. They both stood in the garden listening to the plants brush against one another in the slight breeze.
After a short time he finally broke the silence, "I have a special gift for you." He glanced at one of the garden entrances and gestured for whoever was there to come in.
Two guards entered dragging someone else into the garden. His dark brown hair and face were covered in dirt and his once piercing blue eyes were dull. Sakura let out an inadvertent gasp as she recognized the prisoner before her. It was her fiancé, the man she loved more than anything else.
Before Sakura could say or do anything the Emperor had cast a spell upon her beloved. He was dropped immediately by the guards as he started to flail about on the ground in pain. Sakura could feel is aura, though it was never as strong as her own, tear into pieces. He began screaming as the pain became too great for him to withhold it any longer. To her horror, she could do nothing as she watched and through her magic senses, which were not dimmed by the magic restraining cuff, felt him slowly die. It was more horrible than anything she had ever seen before, not only had he died and turned to stone, his spirit was destroyed.
She felt the tears running down her cheeks and realized that she had been crying. She felt like her heart was torn into tiny pieces and trampled by the horrid man who had captured her. Her mournful reverie was interrupted by the one who had so quickly destroyed her life. "You are no longer engaged. It is only a small amount of time before you shall be my Empress. I have arranged the marriage to take place in two weeks." Shocked by what she had recently witnessed and the sudden revelation, Sakura slowly sank to the ground as the Emperor once again left her by herself in the dreary garden that had a new statue added to its already daunting collection.
She slowly crumpled up on the ground and slowly cried herself to sleep. It was dark when she woke up. She had never been in the garden after dark before and she found all of her nerves on edge. In the moonlight she could see all of the statues seeming to call out to her in agony; the wind was howling through the garden. Magic filled the air and allowed Sakura to see different people cast into stone.
The first image she saw was of her own beloved Norio, it was very painful to watch her love die before her eyes again. The next image was of two young girls and a boy. They were crying for mercy as someone caste the evil spell. They howled in pain and begged to be forgiven. She recognized them and realized that they must have been brought to this place because they were in some sort of stone room when they turned to stone.
The girl around ten was the next scene; she was crying for her mother. A young lady stood before her with a wicked grin on her face right as she cast the spell on her. Her crying increased in volume and her legs gave out beneath her. She screamed in agony as she died and her body turned to stone. Sakura wanted to help her and felt herself crying for the people who had died. Through the night Sakura saw in visions of the various statues ending moments. Each time it happened in a different place and a different person was the caster of the spell.
As morning approached she had her last glimpse of the past. She saw the young warrior breathing heavily as he fought with three other warrior and a sorcerer. As he was fighting a sorceress appeared from behind and caste the horrid spell on him. He stumbled slightly as the waves of pain hit him. He clenched his jaw and put himself in a defensive position as he wearily watched his enemies who had withdrawn from their attack. His aura was bright and tried to fight the spell furiously but in the end he ended up in stone like all the others she had seen.
As the last vision faded she slowly rose as up as the rays of the rising sun began to warm the air. Having seen all of the statues as the human they once were in the last moments of their existence made it harder for the Sorceress to stay in the garden of the dead. As she looked about she saw each of the statues as they once were. Her beloved looked slightly out of place in the garden because he was the only one without wings. She strangely wondered if wings would one day adorn his back.
To Be Continued...
Hopefully I'll be able to get this updated sooner than later.
Thanks for reading, Please R&R, I appreciate it knowing what the readers think of my ideas and how I present them in the story.
