Thank you who reviewed the previous chapter...

Serenia-sd: Sorry for the long wait, I was way too slow...
AnimeAngel302: He wakes up in this chapter. So much fun for me. Mwahahaha...
AnonymousT: I know what you mean. I feel like its dragging too, and I'm writing it. It should pick up now that all the characters are together. Besides, the storyline is forming as I write it. Heheheh ;;;

Ice Jayden: Standard disclaimers apply cause I don't own anything, that is, except the plot (Which is forming as I write.) This is my 'let it write itself' story. It wasn't writing itself very quickly for quite some time and I am really sorry about that.

Cast In Stone

Living Again

Touya broke the silence that had enveloped the camp at their sudden arrival, "hey Yuki, I want you to give Sakura a quick check-up and this kid," he pointed to the young winged warrior tied to the horse, "needs some medical attention." At that Sakura who was about to dash into the embrace of her friends turned around to look closer at what she had thought was a corpse at first. She was then able to see that his chest moved slightly and fairly rhythmically as he breathed. He was alive, barely, but alive.

Suddenly Sakura felt herself falling and a great weight on top of her. Tomoyo had effectively tackled her to the ground. She could see Kero flying just above her head.

"So I take it that your speedy return means that the arrogant Emperor would never expect someone to sneak into his domain and so has it relatively unguarded." Eriol's voice was calm and carried the weight of someone beyond his years, and as usual he was smiling nonchalantly. He then looked towards Touya and Sakura. "Who is the 'kid'? Is he a guardian of the Emperor's like Yue and Ruby Moon are our guardians?"

"No." Touya's statement was simple and without emotion. He then looked at Sakura with a funny expression on his face. "He was a garden statue that is magically attached to Sakura with these cuffs." He then pointed out the metal cuffs on the winged boy and Sakura's wrists.

Sakura seemed to understand his questioning look at her and let out a weary sigh. "The statues in the garden were all living people at one time. It's a horrible spell that they use that kills, at least the emperor said it would kill the victim, and turns them into stone, the wings were added later for decoration." Sakura suddenly recalled watching as Norio had been turned to stone and broke down in a sob. "The Emperor, he captured Norio and ... and he turned him into a stone statue; I felt his aura disappear." Tears once again streaked down the young sorceress's dirty cheeks.

Yukito, who had finished bandaging up the young man that Sakura didn't recognize came over to her and gently comforted her. He gave Sakura a quick examination and determined that she was physically healthy, if slightly malnourished from not eating since Norio's demise. When she was younger she had had a huge crush on him, now she knew about Yue and eventually she had fallen in love with Norio. Now Norio was gone too, but then again, maybe he was still alive within the stone.

"So, how did he go from being a statue to a living, breathing person again?" The question Tomoyo asked brought Sakura back to the present. She looked to Touya for the answer.

"I don't really know. I only managed to chip a small piece off his wrist in an attempt to break it off.


He was completely confused. One moment he had been locked in a furious battle and the next he was waking up with a horrendous headache with his face in the dirt. His thoughts were slightly fuzzy and his eyes refused to focus. He lay on the ground stock-still for a few moments before he was able to clear his mind and his eyes.

He was in a forest. When he attempted to move his hands from behind his back they refused. It only took him a moment to realize that they were tied behind him. He felt slightly detached from his body and took in his situation with an odd serenity.

It was then that he realized that his back felt like it was burning and freezing at the same time. Cold chills traveled up and down his spine while his upper back was swollen and burning. He felt something soft and feathery brush against his arms. Looking to one side he saw a huge wing tied to him. He didn't have any clue where it had come from or why it was there.

He tried to free himself with a simple spell and then jolted completely awake as he felt the suppression of his magic.

He lay there waiting to discover any useful details on his captors and their plans for him in his helpless state. As the hours passed and the sun rose he started to burn up. He knew he was ill and he couldn't do anything about it. Having his magic suppressed made it even worse since through what magic sense he had left he knew that his ailment was magic related.

He watched carefully as the people in the camp surrounding him began to stir. A young girl with auburn hair and emerald eyes approached him while rubbing sleep from her eyes.

She smiled at him and then said something in a language he didn't quite understand. It felt semi-familiar but he couldn't remember why or figure out what she was saying to him. He didn't really feel up to talking, his jaw was already clenched tight in his attempt to overcome his pain. His only response was to narrow his eyes and glare at her.

She repeated what she had said earlier and waited for him to respond. Feeling the need to let her know, since she seemed rather oblivious about her prisoners language, spoke. He managed to say through his teeth, "I haven't the slightest clue what you are saying or what you want with me."

Her expression changed from happy and cheerful to one full of confusion. She spent a few moments in thought and then she pointed to herself and said, "Kinomoto Sakura" and then pointed at him expecting a response. He didn't exactly feel obligated to tell his captors his name and wondered why they had taken him prisoner when they didn't even know who he was.

As he continued to glare at her he felt sweat trickling down his face. His vision was becoming fuzzier but he continued to glare coldly at her. Where did she get the idea that he'd be a cooperative prisoner?

She said something that sounded a lot like "hoe" in an anxious tone and watched him warily. Suddenly she walked up to where he was lying on the ground and placed the back of her hand on his forehead. She immediately pulled her hand back and looked at him with a worried expression.

It was then that he noticed that she was wearing a magic cuff. That means she must be chained to something and she likely has magic since it also suppresses magic. She must be a prisoner too.

His thoughts were getting fuzzier as he struggled to understand what was happening around him. Black spots appeared in his vision. He struggled to remain conscious, but lost the battle. He didn't even notice the young girl leave.


Sakura felt horrible for the young man who had been stuck as a statue for who knows how long and she has no way to talk to him to find out if they could even trust him. And to make his situation even worse, he was really sick.

She hurried back to where the medical supplies are located. She grabbed some medicine to help bring down his fever as well as a clean cloth and a bowl filled with cold water.

When she got back to where he was tied up he was already unconscious. She flipped him unto his back, which was slightly difficult because the wings kept stopping her from simply rolling him over. Grabbing the cloth she got it wet and started to wipe off his forehead.

As she was wiping away the sweat she noticed that he was white as snow and no longer breathing. Panicking, she slapped his face as hard as she could. It left a red mark and he gasped in a little bit of air. His amber eyes flew open and he looked at Sakura as he struggled to breath.

He then started to struggle out of Sakura's hold. His eyes squinted closed against the pain as he finally managed to turn onto his stomach. He then gave a small sigh of relief.

Sakura felt slightly bewildered by his actions but then noticed that the wings on his back were shaking slightly within their bonds. She figured that it was painful for him to be on his back with the unnaturally attached wings.

This complicated Sakura's job of helping him heal. Well, at least now he's awake. She shifted were she was sitting so that she could prop him up a bit. Forcing him to kneel, she tried to give him the medicine. He was determined not to take it.

Sakura was not to be deterred in giving him his medication. After a few minutes of struggling with the boy, she went and got Eriol. With his help, him using his magic, she managed to force the boy to take the medicine. His shirt was drenched in spilled medicine from earlier struggles and he was glaring daggers at Sakura and Eriol.

"There you are!" Sakura snapped up at Tomoyo's sudden interruption. "I've been looking all over for you. I made you the perfect dress and now that you're back and rested I'd like you to try it on." Tomoyo's eyes were sparkling with excitement.

Tomoyo then dragged Sakura away to a tent while Eriol watched with a lazy smile on his lips. He took one last glance at the 'prisoner' and then left.


Syaoran was angry. The stuff he'd been forced to drink was absolutely revolting and he still couldn't figure out why his back felt like it was on fire. Something on his back was shaking slightly and he could feel a slight breeze. Looking to the side he noticed that the monstrous wings tied to him were quivering.

Syaoran's heart grew heavy upon his realization. The wings were His. He was left wondering at how much had happened to him after he blacked out during his battle. He could remember pain right before it happened, and something else was happening. If he could only remember...

A large group of Sorcerers had decided to form an Empire that would cover the entire Earth. They're first target was their greatest threat, the Chinese Kingdom. They had managed to take out most of the Sorcerers including Syaoran's mother. She had been the most powerful Sorceress alive in the world.

While they weren't as powerful, they had greater numbers. They were attacking the castle proper now; rooting out the last of the royal family and its defenders. They wanted to gain the vast amounts of magical knowledge that the Li Sorcerers had acquired over the years.

The tomes that held that knowledge were burning now. There was no way that the Li's could win this battle, it was now a matter of not allowing them to have access to so much power.

Syaoran could smell the smoke from the fires in the libraries from the garden he was standing in. He held his sword in a defensive position while eyeing the three warriors who had entered it. He was guarding the North entrance into the palace proper.

The one in the center approached him head on while the other two moved to his two sides to surround him.

In one swift movement the one in the middle and the one on his right charged at him. As he blocked their swords the third began a mad dash for the door to the palace. They were desperate to save some of the magical knowledge that's currently burning away in the library; information that Syaoran has been studying his entire life but would never share with the enemy.

Knocking the two warriors away from himself he back flipped to land in the path of the third. He was soon locked in combat with the three warriors. All his training coming to the fore as he parried, slashed, blocked, counterattacked, and so forth.

As he was battling the three he picked up a strong magical aura entering the garden. Spells were suddenly being caste in his direction forcing him to use his magic as well as fight. It was getting more difficult for Syaoran to defend himself now, much the less defend the entrance.

Sweat poured down his face as the battled dragged on. He carried many small cuts, but his opponents were no better off. In the back of his mind he felt the entrance of the second and more powerful mage. He was stuck in combat and had no way to defend himself when her spell hit him in the back.

A searing pain ran through his entire body. The four attackers stepped back from him to watch as her spell took affect. He could feel the magic trying to tear his soul to pieces, but used his own magic to hold himself together. He stood defensively incase anyone dared attack him again. He gritted his teeth together in pain as he stood defiant of his quivering muscles and staggering amounts of pain. He could feel his body stiffen and knew he was being changed into something else, stone. Everything went dark.

He was turned to stone. Syaoran paled and remained clueless as to the wings appearance upon his back. He had been stone, but for how long? It made his head hurt just thinking about it.

A man with dark brown hair and eyes was approaching him. He had a magical aura quite a bit weaker than Syaoran's and it was untrained. He started speaking in a low and slightly menacing tone in that same strange language. Syaoran blanched at the implication that these people had no way to communicate with him and vice versa.

A few more men approached and held him while they untied him. Syaoran was completely confused by their actions. The wings spread out to their full span of their own accord. His hands were brought in front of him and one of the men started to remove old bandages and then clean the wounds and rewrap them.

It was then that Syaoran noticed the cuff on his wrist. So that is what is suppressing my magic. He felt slightly frustrated at not having a clue as to what was going on. He had been cast in stone most likely a very long time and the languages had changed over the years.

I Love Reviews, they help me get stuff done a bit faster. I know, this chapter took way too long to do. I will have to try and get the next update done a lot faster. Hope you liked it, well, you can review it to let me know. And don't forget to Smile!!!