Ice Jayden: Standard disclaimers apply cause I don't own anything, that is, except the plot (if there is one).

Cast In Stone

To Escape

Slowly Sakura turned her back on her fianc's stone form and went to her room to mourn. The days passed slowly and she found herself spending most of her time in her room instead of out in the garden. She didn't really notice that many of the flowers began to wilt once more and the weeds began to reclaim the areas that she had worked so hard to remove them from.

Early one morning she was awoken from her slumber by a young girl who was anxiously watching her sleep. As she got up from bed the girl started to measure her without saying a word of explanation for her presence. Sakura was feeling slightly frustrated but the girl determinedly measured her. After she seemed satisfied she left Sakura alone once more. Like usual there was food sitting on a table just outside her door. Sakura still didn't feel like eating anything since the day her love was cruelly murdered right in front of her. She couldn't believe that the Emperor would be so spiteful.

Slowly she made her way to the gardens. Each step she took was difficult and was slowly tearing her up from the inside. She felt the need to ask Norio for his forgiveness for just standing there rather than trying to save him from his untimely death.

Crumpling to the ground in front of the lifeless statue that had at one time been the man Sakura had given her heart to she began to cry again and beg his forgiveness. "I'm so sorry; I should have done something when they brought you in. I should have saved you, but I didn't, please o please forgive me Norio."

As Sakura cried away next to Norio frozen in his last moment of agony, a shadow moved into the garden slowly progressing towards Sakura. It went unnoticed by her until a large, cold hand covered her mouth. Her eyes widened in fear and she began struggling to get out of the unknown person's grasp.

"Hey kaijuu, take it easy and be quiet." The words were whispered into the terrified girl's ear and she immediately relaxed as she recognized the voice. When she stopped struggling, her brother released his hold on her. "I couldn't leave you here to become some power-hungry emperor's wife. We need to leave now. The Emperor is off at some war front and has left his castle practically unguarded."

With that Touya grabbed her wrist and they started running to the gate but being careful to keep in the shadows. Sakura suddenly remembered the means by which the Emperor had imprisoned her in his castle. "Wait Touya, he has me on a magical chain," Sakura whispered. Stopping, Touya looked at his sister expecting further explanation. "This cuff on my wrist can only be opened with his magic and it's linked to an identical cuff on one of the statues," Sakura croaked a little on the word as she remembered how Norio had died, "in the garden. The magical chain is only 50 meters long."

Touya turned around, his eyes surveying the garden looking for the statue that had the other cuff attached to it. Sakura helped him by pointing to the only standing one. Upon seeing it he started to move towards it. "Touya, what are you going to do?" Sakura whispered to her brother as she followed him back to the statue of the young warrior.

"Remove that cuff and bring it with us." His voice was determined and he continued to move quickly and quietly to the offending statue that kept his sister trapped in this dreadful garden.

Sakura's eyes widened in dismay at the thought of him desecrating a dead person's body, even if it had been turned into stone. At the same time she knew that there would be no stopping him. It was the only way for her to escape. Unbidden tears started to flow down her cheeks once more in mourning for a victim of the accursed spell that killed people by casting them in stone.

Turning away from Touya as he started to work at breaking the statue's wrist off, she allowed the tears to flow unheeded. A second later Sakura was knocked off her feet by a strong blast of magic. Giving a small groan she pushed herself back onto her feet and looked to where her brother was. Fear at what she would discover weighed heavily on Sakura.

Her brother was getting up from where he had fallen on his back. A few feet in front of him was the young warrior lying on the ground. He was no longer stone but she noted that the body was obviously stiff as it was almost in the same position only no longer standing. The large golden- brown wings spread out from his back out of the green garment seamlessly. On the wrist with the cuff there was a small cut that was bleeding. The sword was gone and in its place was a red ribbon with an orb attached to it, it was a magic sword. Touya picked it up and put it a pouch at his waist.

Sakura noticed then that her brother had moved in closer to the corpse. After he seemed to finish his examination he picked the body up, which was a bit awkward with the wings stiffly spread out behind its back and it was still in a fighting stance. "Come on Sakura, its time to go." Still staring at the strange scene Sakura slowly began to follow her brother out of the garden. He had looked rather annoyed when the wings got in his way, not to mention they made him a much larger moving object.

They made their way out of the palace and into a nearby stable without anyone noticing them. Touya quickly saddled another horse while Sakura grabbed the two waiting for them. Taking some long rope that was in a nearby tack room Touya managed to fold the wings and then tie them to the boy's sides. He then placed the boy on one of the horses and tied him to the saddle like a sack of potatoes. He then mounted the other horse and lead the one with the winged boy while Sakura rode a little to the side and behind him.

After traveling throughout most of the day and into the night, leaving virtually no trace of their passing, they managed to arrive at a base camp for a small group of rebels. As they entered Sakura noticed a few of her own friends in the group. Chiharu, Naoko, Rika, Tomoyo, and Eriol were all sitting in group talking. Yukito was bandaging up a young man who had a couple of deep gouges in his right should from a fight.

To be continued...

I know, this was a short chapter, but then again, my first chapter was longer than what I tend to write for a single chapter. Next chapter should be longer, after all, this was only their escape.

Please REVIEW. I've recently been having problems with a writers block and appreciate any support I can get to plow through it.