The smell was horrible as I sat there in the dark cave. It soon
overwhelmed me and I drifted into a fitful sleep, plagued by dreams that
showed my emotions like they were small crystals being shattered. I felt
anger towards the Demon... but also fear. I did not want to die. I was
still young; I was only seventeen seasons. I felt sad for Tomoyo. She was
so young and had to go through this. Was she doing well? Would someone
tell me? Please? My runes; I felt empty without them. A sweet smell came
to my nose as I thought about Syaoran. What was this feeling? My heart
quickened and my face grew warm. If it is love, which I am sure it cannot
be, at least I hope; I cannot fall in love with him. I have obligations to
fulfill. That pungent smell came back, and I knew that Demon was
approaching. My eyes opened and I caught the hatred that burned in the
Demon's silted eyes. He tusked face, hardened by years of anger and
seclusion. It's teeth; those long sharp, piercing, yellow stained teeth
glistened in apprehension of eating a fresh meal. Just looking at him made
my stomach churn.
~-~
It was beginning to get very cold and Syaoran's breath became visible as he trekked through the snow at the base of Frozen North Mountain. The mountain was always covered with snow; it was how the Lady of the North liked it. Syaoran looked up and took in the size of the mountain. From the village that he had left only days before, this mountain did not seem insurmountable; but up close it was completely different. You could not see the peak of the mountain where the Lady of the North lived, for it was shrouded in thick white clouds that usually bring snow.
"This does not bode well," Syaoran sighed and shifted his pack.
As he continued on the journey, he did not notice a pair of silver eyes that peered at him from the tree line.
"Strangers come. They seek the diamond..." a voice came from the shadow where the eyes were.
Syaoran began to struggle as he climbed the steep mountainside. The bitter frost that started to settle was taking its toll on him. He soon came upon a small cave just big enough for him to be in comfortably. He lit a small fire and sat there, staring into the flames that danced from log to log.
"Priestess..." he mumbled as his eyes began to get heavy with sleep.
He struggled to stay conscious in the bitter wind that came through the cave opening, but it was futile. He slid into unconsciousness but was acutely aware that he still had his senses.
It was cold and dark where his dream took him, and his instincts told him that someone was watching him, maybe even protecting him.
"Syaoran..." a soft voice called.
At first, Syaoran could not reply, he was speechless with the cold. This entity, it's aura, he somehow knew it, and it knew his name.
"Syaoran, you must be careful," the voice said. "You must keep going. Not only for my sake, but for the sake of the villagers that are counting on you."
"Priestess? How is it that you can enter my dreams?" Syaoran asked, finally finding his voice and realizing who the entity was.
The voice laughed. "You do not need to know 'how'. You need to know 'why'. I will guide you on your journey as long as I can. But for now, you must wake and continue. You have been unconscious for close to eight sun movements. Syaoran, you must continue. But be careful..."
That was the last thing the Priestess told him in his dream. He slowly opened his eyes to find that his fire had gone out and a small layer of ice had formed on his clothes.
Syaoran jumped up and started to knock the ice off his clothes and cursed himself. He could have died if he had stayed asleep much longer. He paused as he heard the wind howl from the front of the cave. Syaoran looked around the cave, trying to see if he could cram himself in any further, but it was too shallow for him to do much else. Shaking with the cold slightly, he added some more damp wood to the ashes and tried to relight it.
After his third try with flint and granite, he thought he heard the voice of a young girl. Syaoran looked up and discovered that the storm had subsided and the mountainside was eerily quiet. He stopped hitting the two rocks together and listened for the voice, wondering if it was his imagination.
"Help..." a faint voice cried. Syaoran, as if in a dream, rose up, strapped on his supplies, and left the shelter.
"Please! Help me!" the voice called again. It came from Syaoran's left. He turned in the direction and walked through the snow, ignoring the cold. A small part of his mind registered that he should be more careful, but the strange feeling overrode it and he walked on. After what might have been an hour, he came upon a little girl sitting in the snow. Her face was as white as chalk and her lips were blue. She looked up at Syaoran.
"Will you help me?" she asked him. She appeared to be no more than five.
Syaoran nodded his head.
The little girl smiled and stood up quickly. "Thank you!" she said. "I am lost and I cannot find my way home. Will you help me?"
Syaoran nodded again.
The girl giggled. "I think I came from over there," she said and pointed up the slope. She got up and ran in that direction. Syaoran failed to notice that she ran on top of the snow. She led Syaoran on for the rest of the day, sometimes backtracking, and never resting. Night fell and she still led him on, and Syaoran continued to follow her. His legs were screaming for rest, and sweat had frozen instantly on his skin, so that his hair was a frozen, matted mess and his shirt was frozen onto his body.
The little girl turned around and smiled at Syaoran. "I think it is just a little bit farther," she said and pointed to a flat area. Syaoran numbly registered relief at reaching someplace safe and warm.
They trudged through the snow a bit longer until they came upon a flat piece of land with a small, log house in the middle. Syaoran entered through the door and instantly felt the heat from the fire blazing in the fireplace. The girl stood at the entrance and stare at Syaoran as he warmed himself bye the fire. Her silver eyes flickered and the door opened behind her.
A tall woman dressed in a long flowing white gown with hints of silver weaved through it came into the room. Syaoran did not notice and continued to warm himself.
The lady looked to the girl and said into her mind. "Is this the one that seeks the diamond?"
The girl nodded and disappeared in a wisp of air.
"I see that you seek the warmth very greedily," the lady said in an airy tone.
Syaoran turned his head to the voice that spoke to him and was surprised that it was not the little girl.
"Where is the girl?" he croaked out, his voice seemed to be frozen in his throat.
"She is fine," the lady replied.
"Who are you?" Syaoran asked in a more firm tone.
"Ahh... you have no patience I see," the lady replied amused. She laughed slightly.
"I do not see what is so funny. Who are you?" Syaoran asked again.
The lady smiled seductively. "Why, I am the Lady of the North, and I hear that you seek the thirteen jewels."
Syaoran straightened and reached for the hilt of his sword.
"Oh, I do so wish you would not make me hurt you. You are very handsome and I would hate to have to kill you," the Lady of the North said in a low, seductive voice.
"I will not fall for you trickery witch, give me the jewel," Syaoran demanded.
"Aww," the Lady said. "'Witch' is such a strong word. I prefer to be called 'enchanter.'"
Syaoran glared and her and unsheathed his sword.
"I shall warn you one more time," the Lady said, in a slightly sterner voice. "Sheathe your sword and you shall not be harmed."
Syaoran paused, but then remembered Sakura and held out his sword in front of him.
The woman glared at him and swept her hand out in a gesture of swatting a fly away. Syaoran's sword was knocked out of his grip and clattered onto the floor. Syaoran took a slight step back and the Lady smirked.
"As I thought," she said. She gestured and a chair appeared behind Syaoran. "Sit down, she commanded.
Syaoran stood where he was.
The Lady stared at him. "Do not force me to make you sit," she said.
Syaoran stared at her, than sat down in the chair slowly.
"Now," the Lady said. She walked away from him and sat at a rough wooden table. "I understand that a certain Demon is running loose again." she smirked. "I was expecting this to happen."
Syaoran started. "Did you do this?" he asked.
"You mean break the seal on the Chest?" she tittered. "No, do not be silly. I have much better uses for my power than stealing petty trinkets."
"Then, why do you have the Diamond of Ice in your possession?" Syaoran asked her.
The Lady smirked. "It was returned to me," she said.
Syaoran did not respond.
The Lady looked at him. Her gaze was as cold and piercing as ice, and it made Syaoran slightly uncomfortable. "Leave this place now," she said, "and I will not kill you. Use your strength on running away to somewhere safe."
A small fleck of understanding passed through Syaoran. "You are the one who is making the growing seasons worse," he said.
The Lady laughed again. "I am honored that you think that, but no, it is not I. I do not posses the powers to throw nature completely off balance," she said.
"No, but you can extend the length and bitterness of the winter months with the power the Diamond gives you," Syaoran said.
"True," The Lady said. "I cannot cause droughts, of course."
Syaoran did not respond. He was beginning to understand the full extent of the dispersal of the Gems. Anyone who had them could control the power they wielded, and if they already had powerful magic, the effect the jewel would have would be devastating.
They sat in silence for a while. Syaoran finally warmed up and he could move his joints without much pain. "Who did remove the seal then?" he asked.
The Lady only smiled. "Stay here for the remainder of the night," she said. "I will do you no harm."
Syaoran stared at her, but could find no deception. Even though he was exhausted, he knew he could not stay. "No," he said. "I must have the Diamond. There is nothing else."
The Lady screamed loudly. "You impudent fool! You dare disobey me?!"
Syaoran took a slightly leaned backwards, this definitely was not the reaction he had expected, but now he knew what Tomoyo had meant when he should be very careful around her.
"You WILL stay, before I decided to chop your head off here and now!" The Lady said, and bitterly spat on the ground.
Syaoran stood up quickly never letting his eyes leave the Lady. He was not sure what she could do to him if he provoked her too much. "She may have other powers besides enchanting," he thought to himself.
The Lady laughed coldly. "You cannot hide anything from me, boy. I can read all minds, and yes, I do have other abilities than just enchanting. For instance, I could have impaled you six times already, you move too slow and you are restrained by hidden feelings."
Syaoran's eyes widened, as he stared at the woman— no, the thing that stood before him. It was no woman; it was a deadly creature, born of hatred and greed. The Lady of the North took a few steps towards Syaoran and he quickly reached for the hilt of his sword but remember that the Lady had knocked it out of his hands and now it lay helplessly on the floor next to the Lady. Syaoran cursed his luck and stared intently at the Lady.
"Fine, if you wish the diamond so much, you will have to battle me for it. If I win, I get to keep you up here, trapped, and you will be my slave. If you win, I will give you the diamond, and I will bother you no longer. Do we have a deal?" the Lady asked and her cold and piercing gaze going straight through Syaoran's body.
Now, Syaoran did not really have a choice in the matter. If he did not accept the deal, then he would be a slave to this thing and the Priestess would die. He could not just let the Priestess die, he had obligations to the villagers back home; and somehow... he felt that he had obligations to his heart to get the Priestess back. There was a void in his heart that he felt, little did he know, but there was a feeling that no enchanter such as the one before him, or mythical creature, could ever understand. A power that gave the beholder such strength that the most unlikely pairings in battle would be won easily. What was this power? It was simple really, but Syaoran did not understand it, the Priestess did not understand it, and surely, the Lady of the North did not understand it; it was love. Love would bring Syaoran back to the Priestess... Sakura, that name made his skin prickle and the heat rise to his face.
"All right. You have a deal. If you win, I stay here and I will be your slave. If I win, I take the diamond and leave," Syaoran replied.
The Lady of the North smirked. "You have three days to prepare yourself. When you are done, meet me at the peak of the mountain."
"Wait," Syaoran said. "Where do I stay?"
"Here, of course," the Lady said and glided out of the room.
Syaoran sighed. It seemed as if his world were crashing down upon him and he did not know what to do. He walked over and picked up his sword and stared at it. He did not see how it could help him against the Lady. He sheathed it and sat down again, staring into the fire. He hoped he might get some sort of a vision. That happened to him sometimes when he stared into water or flames for a long period of time. However, his stomach did not intend to let him ponder the matter for much longer, because it gave a long and loud growl. He grimaced and looked around the room, and to his surprise, he saw a plate on the rough, wooden table filled with meat, cheese, and bread. He also saw a goblet of what was probably ale.
He got up and walked over to the food. Syaoran stared at it for a while, not sure if he should trust it or not. After all, the Lady did want him as her pet. However, she had made a pact with him, and, he heard, magical beings kept pacts. He finally shrugged. "It's not like I'll be much better off starving," he said to himself and sat down to eat.
~-~
The three days passed quickly. Syaoran spent most of his time eating, pacing the room, and staring into the fire, wondering what he had gotten himself into. He was not able to go into a trance to receive a vision during this time because the butterflies in his stomach threatened to eat him from the inside out. He also had not received any significant dreams, other than nightmares in which the Lady slaughtered him, or in which Sakura was slaughtered by the Demon. In the afternoon of the third day, the Lady came to him again.
"It is time," she said simply. She had decided to put another cloak of magic upon herself, because she appeared harmless and beautiful, like a nymph of the ice. Syaoran mused that there must not be many nymphs left because, magical beings or not, they could not stand the supreme cold of the mountains, or the fact that the Lady would have killed them and taken their power for her own.
"Where will be fighting?" Syaoran dared to ask, as they trekked through the snow that had fallen the night before.
"There is flat land at the peak of the mountain. That is where we will commence with the challenge for the Diamond," the Lady replied shortly.
Syaoran watched the frozen trees as they continued to climb the mountain. It seemed to be hours of walking before the reached the peak. There was a lot less air up here and it took Syaoran several minutes to catch his breath, all the while the Lady smirked at him.
"This will be easier than I thought," she mused to herself. "If he is affected by the altitude he shall fall quickly and become my pet."
He limbs felt heavy as he tried to pick up his sword but dropped it and fell to his knees. There had to be a magical barrier around the peak of this mountain, there had to be. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped drastically.
"Sakura..." Syaoran mouthed softly, and stood up swaying a bit on his feet.
He hefted up his sword with both hands and took a stance. He would have to try his best, for if he died here then Sakura would die with that demon. The cold wind seared through his lungs as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves, but it only made it worse.
A light laugh came across the wind. "You may make the first move, my dear pet."
Syaoran ground his teeth as the Lady's voice came into his mind. With the wind it brought snow flurries and his vision was disrupted. He could no longer see the Lady, or for that matter, the cliff of the mountain. He cursed his luck quietly and stared into the snow, trying with all his might to see any shape that he could attack.
The Lady watched Syaoran look around helplessly. She desperately wanted to attack him and get the fight over with; she had things to do. However, she had made a pact and must fulfill it.
Syaoran thought he saw a shape, so, desperate for anything to happen, he attacked it.
The Lady gasped and dodged Syaoran's sword. The boy was stronger than she thought he was if he was able to make out any shape at all in the storm.
Syaoran, hearing the Lady's gasp, took heart and attacked the shape again. The shape moved, this time closer to him, as if to get in range for an attack. A few seconds later, he heard some muttered words and dodged to the right just in time to escape shards of ice that would have cut through his arm. Syaoran tripped and tumbled a few feet, then jumped up. To his surprise, his vision was clear.
"So," the Lady said. "You have defeated my first attack."
Syaoran did not say anything, but the Lady could tell what he was thinking. "Yes, my first attack was the storm." she made a sound of disgust. "You are obviously strong enough to have seen me though it, so I dismissed it, for it was wasting my energy." She smiled maliciously. "You will be a entertaining spirit to break."
Syaoran gritted his teeth and hefted his sword up, ready for whatever happened next.
The Lady spoke a few more words quietly and she seemed to vanish into thin air.
"He will never see me until after I attack," the Lady thought to herself and laughed.
Syaoran caught her soft laugh over the wind and closed his eyes. If he could channel is aura into a ring around himself, it would bounce off anything that was unseen to his real eyes. And if there was anything around him, he could attack it. Slowly but surely, is aura bounced off an object and Syaoran swung. It hit true and the Lady cried out in pain as blood seeped through the gash in her arm.
"Curse you, you have defeated my second attack," the Lady hissed. "Though you are fast and able, you will never defeat that last of my attacks."
Syaoran stared at the Lady with cold and uncompassionate eyes and the Lady shuddered under the gaze.
"There is something familiar about him," the Lady thought. "Useless thoughts, you will win and he will fail, and then he shall be yours; forever."
Syaoran dug his feet into the soft snow that lay on the ground to give him better footing for the attack. So far the Lady had used the forces of nature and invisibility on him. So he assumed that the next one would be a direct attack, the kind that he was best at. The kind that had won him the praises back home.
The Lady stared at him and his ready posture. She had a moment of despair and listlessness before she pulled herself together again. She raised her pale arms up into the air and opened her hands, palm up, towards the heavens. A giant ice crystal materialized and grew above her head.
Syaoran shifted his grip on his sword. It looked as if he was going to have to dodge the full blow and try to destroy her attacks from the side.
The Lady released the crystal. It shot towards Syaoran, leaving no room to avoid the attack. With all his strength, Syaoran held his sword up in front of him, bracing the tip with his left hand, his right hand on the hilt. He braced himself for impact. To his surprise, and that of the Lady's, fire lanced out, hitting the ice head-on and melting it.
The Lady gasped and stepped back. "How?"
Syaoran glared at her. "You do not need to know anything except that your fight is futile. Give me the diamond and you shall live."
The Lady stared at him imperiously. "Fine," she snapped. She reached for her waist and pulled off a girdle. Syaoran was slightly surprised; he had never seen it on her before. The Lady laughed bitterly. "Yes, you have never seen it because I keep enchantments on it. The diamond is dear to me." She paused. "Come with me, boy," she said. "Your power is great and it could be greater with me at your side." She cocked her head. "We can get the Priestess back. She would be all yours," she said.
Syaoran briefly imagined himself with the Lady, and the Priestess. He imagined what it would be like to have her, to hold her, to keep her. He shook his head slightly. She would be miserable, if she was allowed to keep her mind, and if not, a puppet.
"No?" the Lady asked. "Fine. Come and get the gem." She held the girdle out in front of her.
Syaoran slowly stepped forward and grasped the jewelry. The instant he touched it, searing pain lanced up his arm and filled his body; his consciousness. Through the haze, he could hear the Lady laughing, before he slipped into blackness.
It was completely black where he was. He knew that, but he could not force himself to awaken. There was something in this blackness; something waiting for him.
"Syaoran..." a soft voice came across the darkness.
He felt his hear shatter. There was pain in that voice, a lot of pain.
"Syaoran, it was a trap..." the voice said again.
"I know that now..." Syaoran thought.
"Why did you not see it Syaoran? Because of this, because of you I am dying," the soft voice suddenly became utterly harsh. "It is all your fault!"
"No, no it is not!" Syaoran's thoughts shouted back.
"I tried to believe in you Syaoran. I tried. But, of course, my trust has been broken once again. You failed me Syaoran, and now, I am the one dying," the voice explained monotonously.
Suddenly, the voice screamed in horror and there was the sound of flesh being ripped and the scream turned into muddled gurgles.
"SAKURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Syaoran's thought screamed. "No! Please! Come back! Please... please come back...."
"She is gone," a dark voice said happily. "And she was very tasty. I guess I have you to thank for that."
He felt like a child again. A helpless child that just witnessed his only friend be slaughtered. A child, who cannot go on without that friend, a child whose soul was tied to that soul. He cried, just like a child. He called for his mother uselessly. A child who is slowly killing itself with the pain that it cannot let go of. And he continued to cry; like a child.
Suddenly, a soothing voice spoke. "It is alright, Syaoran," it cooed.
Syaoran stopped crying to listen, although, he was still in pain.
"You do not ever have to listen to anything like that again. You do not even have to remember," the voice said. "You know of what I speak."
Syaoran did not say anything; he only bent his head down again and continued to cry again.
~-~
He had been alone for a while. He had stopped crying a while ago, too, but he was still hurt. His thoughts turned to Sakura. Her haunting eyes, her calm demeanor, her beautiful face, her kindness... He could go on forever describing everything about her. It was then that he truly realized that he loved her, and would do anything to help her. His mind turned back to her last words with him, and to the sound of her death. He started to weep again. Suddenly, a thought appeared. He started to remember her accusations and her hate-filled voice. All of his memories of her in the village did not seem to be the Sakura that had just died... what was it.... minutes ago? Hours? Days? He could not tell. It did not matter. All he could remember was the kindness of the Priestess, the calm and patient presence. He started to think. Would Sakura have blamed him for her death? Maybe, but he did not think she would tell him. Would she have hated him? No, he did not think that also. She did not seem capable of hate. Somehow, she seemed beyond that.
Suddenly, he could sense his surroundings. He was on cold, hard stone. It was dark, but not the same darkness he was just in. This was... tangible. Syaoran sat up; he realized he was curled up into a ball, and wiped his tear-streaked face. He then reached out to try to touch something, and hit cold stone.
"Lady of the North!!" He bellowed. "I have an answer for you!! It is no! Never!"
There was no response. Suddenly, there was something cool, smooth, and hard in his hand. Though he could not see it, he knew what it was: the diamond. He had beaten the Lady of the North. The hard stone floor disappeared and Syaoran felt around on the ground. He was blind, though, he knew that his eyesight would come back. He was now sitting on a patch of cool, damp grass, and the sound of water rushing by filled his ears.
"You are at the River Severen," an airy voice came down through the breeze. "You won my challenge skillfully, and I hope that, like the one before you, you use that jewel to save the Priestess... only this time, I hope that you two can be together; like he wanted it to be."
Syaoran just listened. He knew it was the Lady of the North, and he knew that he won, the only thing that was unclear to him, was what she just said. Who was this other person that had beaten her before? But he did not ask, he just sat there, blindly staring at the river that was before him.
His limbs ached and he was extremely tired, but he knew that he had to move on. But his body would not let him and he slowly drifted to sleep, he tried to fight it but his fight was futile. Though he knew that if he tried to stay awake he would not be able to continue, so he let hi body win, and fell into a deep slumber.
~-~
He was visited again in his dream, but this time, it was not all black. He seemed to be in a field of flowers, not unlike the one that he was in when the Priestess was captured. He wondered lazily if he would ever get a rest in which he didn't have to go anywhere. Syaoran didn't really mind anyways; it was peaceful there, and he felt happy.
"It is nice here, is it not?" A woman's voice said from behind him.
Syaoran spun around, and saw Sakura sitting on the ground, playing with a flower chain. She was wearing what she had worn when she had been abducted.
"How?"
Sakura smiled at him. "I suppose you still think that the last dream you had was reality."
Syaoran did not say anything; he only stared at her.
"Well, I will not patronize you, but I am a bit disappointed in you." She gave a mischievous smile. "I am not THAT mean."
Syaoran did not smile back.
"Ok, I am sorry," Sakura said sheepishly and stood up. She walked over to him and put the flower chain around his neck. "Cheer up! You got the first jewel, and I am not dead!" No matter how happy she sounded, though, the unspoken "yet" lingered about their silence.
"Yes, you are right," Syaoran spoke for the first time.
Sakura smiled at him. "Shall we walk?" she started to move in the direction of a small grove of woods.
"Why did the Lady of the North just send me away?" Syaoran said, hurrying a bit to catch up.
"I do not know," Sakura said dreamily.
"She was talking about something strange," he said, pressing the matter. "Something about another man, and another Priestess. And the man, he could not be with the Priestess; no matter how much he wanted to. And, something about using the stone to help her."
"WOW!" Sakura skipped in front of him and turned to look at him, walking backwards so that she could do so. "You CAN speak more than three words at one time! You can even speak three sentences at one time!"
Syaoran glared at her. Sakura smiled back. They stared at each other for a minute, before realizing that they were staring, and looking away quickly.
"Well," Sakura said. "There was a priestess a long, long time ago, that was in love with a prince." She thought for a minute. "I know that they could not be with each other, but there is nothing in the legends about a stone." She pointed to her circlet. "It is how the Priestesses got this."
Syaoran nodded. "Well, if it is legend, then we never know what really happened."
Sakura nodded. "True." She grinned at him. "Well, you have to go find that chest next... unless you want to rush in and capture me."
Syaoran grimaced. "Which would be better? And, how long can you survive?"
"I can last as long as I need to." Sakura said. "Most of the power that comes from the pendant is the will to live."
Syaoran nodded. "He is not torturing you, is he?"
Sakura paused.
"He is," Syaoran said.
"Well, he is not torturing me physically," Sakura replied slowly.
"Torture is torture," Syaoran added bitterly.
Sakura sighed. "Just do what you need to do. I can last."
Syaoran turned to face her and took her hand. "I do not want you to be in pain."
"Well, if it is what is needed, then so be it." Sakura said firmly. "Get the Chest first," she said.
"But - "
Sakura cut him off. "No buts. You will get the Chest first. I will be fine. Do not worry about me." She smiled up at him again, looking into his eyes. She then reached up and touched them. Syaoran closed his lids in reflex. "You will need your sight sooner than it shall come back," she said.
~-~
Suddenly, Syaoran was awake again. This time, though, he could see. He was in the forested region by the river. He looked at the sky and realized that it was about noon. He stood up and checked that everything was there, including the gem. After he made sure that everything was there, he started off along the bank of the stream. Only a few minutes had passed until he realized that he had forgotten to ask where the Chest was located in the first place.
WOO HOOO!! Our second chapter is done!! Yayay!
-Naoko
I know! I feel so spezzial!
-Sakura
*Holds up Syaoran's sword* review or I shall eat you.
-Naoko
What's the Sword for?
-Sakura
. GIVE THAT BACK!
-Syaoran
YAY! *jumps on Syaoran*
-Sakura
I wish Legato was here...
-Naoko
If they owned CCS, It would be the worst manga in the world.
-Kuri-chan
We heard that...
-Sakura and Naoko
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Well, there doesn't appear to be any references in this chapter other than the fact that time is told by "suns" (days) "seasons" (years) and moons (months). For possible future reference, since the ancient Celts referred to months by the cycles of the moon, there are thirteen months, instead of twelve. Hence, thirteen is a holy number in their mythology. WOW!
~-~
It was beginning to get very cold and Syaoran's breath became visible as he trekked through the snow at the base of Frozen North Mountain. The mountain was always covered with snow; it was how the Lady of the North liked it. Syaoran looked up and took in the size of the mountain. From the village that he had left only days before, this mountain did not seem insurmountable; but up close it was completely different. You could not see the peak of the mountain where the Lady of the North lived, for it was shrouded in thick white clouds that usually bring snow.
"This does not bode well," Syaoran sighed and shifted his pack.
As he continued on the journey, he did not notice a pair of silver eyes that peered at him from the tree line.
"Strangers come. They seek the diamond..." a voice came from the shadow where the eyes were.
Syaoran began to struggle as he climbed the steep mountainside. The bitter frost that started to settle was taking its toll on him. He soon came upon a small cave just big enough for him to be in comfortably. He lit a small fire and sat there, staring into the flames that danced from log to log.
"Priestess..." he mumbled as his eyes began to get heavy with sleep.
He struggled to stay conscious in the bitter wind that came through the cave opening, but it was futile. He slid into unconsciousness but was acutely aware that he still had his senses.
It was cold and dark where his dream took him, and his instincts told him that someone was watching him, maybe even protecting him.
"Syaoran..." a soft voice called.
At first, Syaoran could not reply, he was speechless with the cold. This entity, it's aura, he somehow knew it, and it knew his name.
"Syaoran, you must be careful," the voice said. "You must keep going. Not only for my sake, but for the sake of the villagers that are counting on you."
"Priestess? How is it that you can enter my dreams?" Syaoran asked, finally finding his voice and realizing who the entity was.
The voice laughed. "You do not need to know 'how'. You need to know 'why'. I will guide you on your journey as long as I can. But for now, you must wake and continue. You have been unconscious for close to eight sun movements. Syaoran, you must continue. But be careful..."
That was the last thing the Priestess told him in his dream. He slowly opened his eyes to find that his fire had gone out and a small layer of ice had formed on his clothes.
Syaoran jumped up and started to knock the ice off his clothes and cursed himself. He could have died if he had stayed asleep much longer. He paused as he heard the wind howl from the front of the cave. Syaoran looked around the cave, trying to see if he could cram himself in any further, but it was too shallow for him to do much else. Shaking with the cold slightly, he added some more damp wood to the ashes and tried to relight it.
After his third try with flint and granite, he thought he heard the voice of a young girl. Syaoran looked up and discovered that the storm had subsided and the mountainside was eerily quiet. He stopped hitting the two rocks together and listened for the voice, wondering if it was his imagination.
"Help..." a faint voice cried. Syaoran, as if in a dream, rose up, strapped on his supplies, and left the shelter.
"Please! Help me!" the voice called again. It came from Syaoran's left. He turned in the direction and walked through the snow, ignoring the cold. A small part of his mind registered that he should be more careful, but the strange feeling overrode it and he walked on. After what might have been an hour, he came upon a little girl sitting in the snow. Her face was as white as chalk and her lips were blue. She looked up at Syaoran.
"Will you help me?" she asked him. She appeared to be no more than five.
Syaoran nodded his head.
The little girl smiled and stood up quickly. "Thank you!" she said. "I am lost and I cannot find my way home. Will you help me?"
Syaoran nodded again.
The girl giggled. "I think I came from over there," she said and pointed up the slope. She got up and ran in that direction. Syaoran failed to notice that she ran on top of the snow. She led Syaoran on for the rest of the day, sometimes backtracking, and never resting. Night fell and she still led him on, and Syaoran continued to follow her. His legs were screaming for rest, and sweat had frozen instantly on his skin, so that his hair was a frozen, matted mess and his shirt was frozen onto his body.
The little girl turned around and smiled at Syaoran. "I think it is just a little bit farther," she said and pointed to a flat area. Syaoran numbly registered relief at reaching someplace safe and warm.
They trudged through the snow a bit longer until they came upon a flat piece of land with a small, log house in the middle. Syaoran entered through the door and instantly felt the heat from the fire blazing in the fireplace. The girl stood at the entrance and stare at Syaoran as he warmed himself bye the fire. Her silver eyes flickered and the door opened behind her.
A tall woman dressed in a long flowing white gown with hints of silver weaved through it came into the room. Syaoran did not notice and continued to warm himself.
The lady looked to the girl and said into her mind. "Is this the one that seeks the diamond?"
The girl nodded and disappeared in a wisp of air.
"I see that you seek the warmth very greedily," the lady said in an airy tone.
Syaoran turned his head to the voice that spoke to him and was surprised that it was not the little girl.
"Where is the girl?" he croaked out, his voice seemed to be frozen in his throat.
"She is fine," the lady replied.
"Who are you?" Syaoran asked in a more firm tone.
"Ahh... you have no patience I see," the lady replied amused. She laughed slightly.
"I do not see what is so funny. Who are you?" Syaoran asked again.
The lady smiled seductively. "Why, I am the Lady of the North, and I hear that you seek the thirteen jewels."
Syaoran straightened and reached for the hilt of his sword.
"Oh, I do so wish you would not make me hurt you. You are very handsome and I would hate to have to kill you," the Lady of the North said in a low, seductive voice.
"I will not fall for you trickery witch, give me the jewel," Syaoran demanded.
"Aww," the Lady said. "'Witch' is such a strong word. I prefer to be called 'enchanter.'"
Syaoran glared and her and unsheathed his sword.
"I shall warn you one more time," the Lady said, in a slightly sterner voice. "Sheathe your sword and you shall not be harmed."
Syaoran paused, but then remembered Sakura and held out his sword in front of him.
The woman glared at him and swept her hand out in a gesture of swatting a fly away. Syaoran's sword was knocked out of his grip and clattered onto the floor. Syaoran took a slight step back and the Lady smirked.
"As I thought," she said. She gestured and a chair appeared behind Syaoran. "Sit down, she commanded.
Syaoran stood where he was.
The Lady stared at him. "Do not force me to make you sit," she said.
Syaoran stared at her, than sat down in the chair slowly.
"Now," the Lady said. She walked away from him and sat at a rough wooden table. "I understand that a certain Demon is running loose again." she smirked. "I was expecting this to happen."
Syaoran started. "Did you do this?" he asked.
"You mean break the seal on the Chest?" she tittered. "No, do not be silly. I have much better uses for my power than stealing petty trinkets."
"Then, why do you have the Diamond of Ice in your possession?" Syaoran asked her.
The Lady smirked. "It was returned to me," she said.
Syaoran did not respond.
The Lady looked at him. Her gaze was as cold and piercing as ice, and it made Syaoran slightly uncomfortable. "Leave this place now," she said, "and I will not kill you. Use your strength on running away to somewhere safe."
A small fleck of understanding passed through Syaoran. "You are the one who is making the growing seasons worse," he said.
The Lady laughed again. "I am honored that you think that, but no, it is not I. I do not posses the powers to throw nature completely off balance," she said.
"No, but you can extend the length and bitterness of the winter months with the power the Diamond gives you," Syaoran said.
"True," The Lady said. "I cannot cause droughts, of course."
Syaoran did not respond. He was beginning to understand the full extent of the dispersal of the Gems. Anyone who had them could control the power they wielded, and if they already had powerful magic, the effect the jewel would have would be devastating.
They sat in silence for a while. Syaoran finally warmed up and he could move his joints without much pain. "Who did remove the seal then?" he asked.
The Lady only smiled. "Stay here for the remainder of the night," she said. "I will do you no harm."
Syaoran stared at her, but could find no deception. Even though he was exhausted, he knew he could not stay. "No," he said. "I must have the Diamond. There is nothing else."
The Lady screamed loudly. "You impudent fool! You dare disobey me?!"
Syaoran took a slightly leaned backwards, this definitely was not the reaction he had expected, but now he knew what Tomoyo had meant when he should be very careful around her.
"You WILL stay, before I decided to chop your head off here and now!" The Lady said, and bitterly spat on the ground.
Syaoran stood up quickly never letting his eyes leave the Lady. He was not sure what she could do to him if he provoked her too much. "She may have other powers besides enchanting," he thought to himself.
The Lady laughed coldly. "You cannot hide anything from me, boy. I can read all minds, and yes, I do have other abilities than just enchanting. For instance, I could have impaled you six times already, you move too slow and you are restrained by hidden feelings."
Syaoran's eyes widened, as he stared at the woman— no, the thing that stood before him. It was no woman; it was a deadly creature, born of hatred and greed. The Lady of the North took a few steps towards Syaoran and he quickly reached for the hilt of his sword but remember that the Lady had knocked it out of his hands and now it lay helplessly on the floor next to the Lady. Syaoran cursed his luck and stared intently at the Lady.
"Fine, if you wish the diamond so much, you will have to battle me for it. If I win, I get to keep you up here, trapped, and you will be my slave. If you win, I will give you the diamond, and I will bother you no longer. Do we have a deal?" the Lady asked and her cold and piercing gaze going straight through Syaoran's body.
Now, Syaoran did not really have a choice in the matter. If he did not accept the deal, then he would be a slave to this thing and the Priestess would die. He could not just let the Priestess die, he had obligations to the villagers back home; and somehow... he felt that he had obligations to his heart to get the Priestess back. There was a void in his heart that he felt, little did he know, but there was a feeling that no enchanter such as the one before him, or mythical creature, could ever understand. A power that gave the beholder such strength that the most unlikely pairings in battle would be won easily. What was this power? It was simple really, but Syaoran did not understand it, the Priestess did not understand it, and surely, the Lady of the North did not understand it; it was love. Love would bring Syaoran back to the Priestess... Sakura, that name made his skin prickle and the heat rise to his face.
"All right. You have a deal. If you win, I stay here and I will be your slave. If I win, I take the diamond and leave," Syaoran replied.
The Lady of the North smirked. "You have three days to prepare yourself. When you are done, meet me at the peak of the mountain."
"Wait," Syaoran said. "Where do I stay?"
"Here, of course," the Lady said and glided out of the room.
Syaoran sighed. It seemed as if his world were crashing down upon him and he did not know what to do. He walked over and picked up his sword and stared at it. He did not see how it could help him against the Lady. He sheathed it and sat down again, staring into the fire. He hoped he might get some sort of a vision. That happened to him sometimes when he stared into water or flames for a long period of time. However, his stomach did not intend to let him ponder the matter for much longer, because it gave a long and loud growl. He grimaced and looked around the room, and to his surprise, he saw a plate on the rough, wooden table filled with meat, cheese, and bread. He also saw a goblet of what was probably ale.
He got up and walked over to the food. Syaoran stared at it for a while, not sure if he should trust it or not. After all, the Lady did want him as her pet. However, she had made a pact with him, and, he heard, magical beings kept pacts. He finally shrugged. "It's not like I'll be much better off starving," he said to himself and sat down to eat.
~-~
The three days passed quickly. Syaoran spent most of his time eating, pacing the room, and staring into the fire, wondering what he had gotten himself into. He was not able to go into a trance to receive a vision during this time because the butterflies in his stomach threatened to eat him from the inside out. He also had not received any significant dreams, other than nightmares in which the Lady slaughtered him, or in which Sakura was slaughtered by the Demon. In the afternoon of the third day, the Lady came to him again.
"It is time," she said simply. She had decided to put another cloak of magic upon herself, because she appeared harmless and beautiful, like a nymph of the ice. Syaoran mused that there must not be many nymphs left because, magical beings or not, they could not stand the supreme cold of the mountains, or the fact that the Lady would have killed them and taken their power for her own.
"Where will be fighting?" Syaoran dared to ask, as they trekked through the snow that had fallen the night before.
"There is flat land at the peak of the mountain. That is where we will commence with the challenge for the Diamond," the Lady replied shortly.
Syaoran watched the frozen trees as they continued to climb the mountain. It seemed to be hours of walking before the reached the peak. There was a lot less air up here and it took Syaoran several minutes to catch his breath, all the while the Lady smirked at him.
"This will be easier than I thought," she mused to herself. "If he is affected by the altitude he shall fall quickly and become my pet."
He limbs felt heavy as he tried to pick up his sword but dropped it and fell to his knees. There had to be a magical barrier around the peak of this mountain, there had to be. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped drastically.
"Sakura..." Syaoran mouthed softly, and stood up swaying a bit on his feet.
He hefted up his sword with both hands and took a stance. He would have to try his best, for if he died here then Sakura would die with that demon. The cold wind seared through his lungs as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves, but it only made it worse.
A light laugh came across the wind. "You may make the first move, my dear pet."
Syaoran ground his teeth as the Lady's voice came into his mind. With the wind it brought snow flurries and his vision was disrupted. He could no longer see the Lady, or for that matter, the cliff of the mountain. He cursed his luck quietly and stared into the snow, trying with all his might to see any shape that he could attack.
The Lady watched Syaoran look around helplessly. She desperately wanted to attack him and get the fight over with; she had things to do. However, she had made a pact and must fulfill it.
Syaoran thought he saw a shape, so, desperate for anything to happen, he attacked it.
The Lady gasped and dodged Syaoran's sword. The boy was stronger than she thought he was if he was able to make out any shape at all in the storm.
Syaoran, hearing the Lady's gasp, took heart and attacked the shape again. The shape moved, this time closer to him, as if to get in range for an attack. A few seconds later, he heard some muttered words and dodged to the right just in time to escape shards of ice that would have cut through his arm. Syaoran tripped and tumbled a few feet, then jumped up. To his surprise, his vision was clear.
"So," the Lady said. "You have defeated my first attack."
Syaoran did not say anything, but the Lady could tell what he was thinking. "Yes, my first attack was the storm." she made a sound of disgust. "You are obviously strong enough to have seen me though it, so I dismissed it, for it was wasting my energy." She smiled maliciously. "You will be a entertaining spirit to break."
Syaoran gritted his teeth and hefted his sword up, ready for whatever happened next.
The Lady spoke a few more words quietly and she seemed to vanish into thin air.
"He will never see me until after I attack," the Lady thought to herself and laughed.
Syaoran caught her soft laugh over the wind and closed his eyes. If he could channel is aura into a ring around himself, it would bounce off anything that was unseen to his real eyes. And if there was anything around him, he could attack it. Slowly but surely, is aura bounced off an object and Syaoran swung. It hit true and the Lady cried out in pain as blood seeped through the gash in her arm.
"Curse you, you have defeated my second attack," the Lady hissed. "Though you are fast and able, you will never defeat that last of my attacks."
Syaoran stared at the Lady with cold and uncompassionate eyes and the Lady shuddered under the gaze.
"There is something familiar about him," the Lady thought. "Useless thoughts, you will win and he will fail, and then he shall be yours; forever."
Syaoran dug his feet into the soft snow that lay on the ground to give him better footing for the attack. So far the Lady had used the forces of nature and invisibility on him. So he assumed that the next one would be a direct attack, the kind that he was best at. The kind that had won him the praises back home.
The Lady stared at him and his ready posture. She had a moment of despair and listlessness before she pulled herself together again. She raised her pale arms up into the air and opened her hands, palm up, towards the heavens. A giant ice crystal materialized and grew above her head.
Syaoran shifted his grip on his sword. It looked as if he was going to have to dodge the full blow and try to destroy her attacks from the side.
The Lady released the crystal. It shot towards Syaoran, leaving no room to avoid the attack. With all his strength, Syaoran held his sword up in front of him, bracing the tip with his left hand, his right hand on the hilt. He braced himself for impact. To his surprise, and that of the Lady's, fire lanced out, hitting the ice head-on and melting it.
The Lady gasped and stepped back. "How?"
Syaoran glared at her. "You do not need to know anything except that your fight is futile. Give me the diamond and you shall live."
The Lady stared at him imperiously. "Fine," she snapped. She reached for her waist and pulled off a girdle. Syaoran was slightly surprised; he had never seen it on her before. The Lady laughed bitterly. "Yes, you have never seen it because I keep enchantments on it. The diamond is dear to me." She paused. "Come with me, boy," she said. "Your power is great and it could be greater with me at your side." She cocked her head. "We can get the Priestess back. She would be all yours," she said.
Syaoran briefly imagined himself with the Lady, and the Priestess. He imagined what it would be like to have her, to hold her, to keep her. He shook his head slightly. She would be miserable, if she was allowed to keep her mind, and if not, a puppet.
"No?" the Lady asked. "Fine. Come and get the gem." She held the girdle out in front of her.
Syaoran slowly stepped forward and grasped the jewelry. The instant he touched it, searing pain lanced up his arm and filled his body; his consciousness. Through the haze, he could hear the Lady laughing, before he slipped into blackness.
It was completely black where he was. He knew that, but he could not force himself to awaken. There was something in this blackness; something waiting for him.
"Syaoran..." a soft voice came across the darkness.
He felt his hear shatter. There was pain in that voice, a lot of pain.
"Syaoran, it was a trap..." the voice said again.
"I know that now..." Syaoran thought.
"Why did you not see it Syaoran? Because of this, because of you I am dying," the soft voice suddenly became utterly harsh. "It is all your fault!"
"No, no it is not!" Syaoran's thoughts shouted back.
"I tried to believe in you Syaoran. I tried. But, of course, my trust has been broken once again. You failed me Syaoran, and now, I am the one dying," the voice explained monotonously.
Suddenly, the voice screamed in horror and there was the sound of flesh being ripped and the scream turned into muddled gurgles.
"SAKURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Syaoran's thought screamed. "No! Please! Come back! Please... please come back...."
"She is gone," a dark voice said happily. "And she was very tasty. I guess I have you to thank for that."
He felt like a child again. A helpless child that just witnessed his only friend be slaughtered. A child, who cannot go on without that friend, a child whose soul was tied to that soul. He cried, just like a child. He called for his mother uselessly. A child who is slowly killing itself with the pain that it cannot let go of. And he continued to cry; like a child.
Suddenly, a soothing voice spoke. "It is alright, Syaoran," it cooed.
Syaoran stopped crying to listen, although, he was still in pain.
"You do not ever have to listen to anything like that again. You do not even have to remember," the voice said. "You know of what I speak."
Syaoran did not say anything; he only bent his head down again and continued to cry again.
~-~
He had been alone for a while. He had stopped crying a while ago, too, but he was still hurt. His thoughts turned to Sakura. Her haunting eyes, her calm demeanor, her beautiful face, her kindness... He could go on forever describing everything about her. It was then that he truly realized that he loved her, and would do anything to help her. His mind turned back to her last words with him, and to the sound of her death. He started to weep again. Suddenly, a thought appeared. He started to remember her accusations and her hate-filled voice. All of his memories of her in the village did not seem to be the Sakura that had just died... what was it.... minutes ago? Hours? Days? He could not tell. It did not matter. All he could remember was the kindness of the Priestess, the calm and patient presence. He started to think. Would Sakura have blamed him for her death? Maybe, but he did not think she would tell him. Would she have hated him? No, he did not think that also. She did not seem capable of hate. Somehow, she seemed beyond that.
Suddenly, he could sense his surroundings. He was on cold, hard stone. It was dark, but not the same darkness he was just in. This was... tangible. Syaoran sat up; he realized he was curled up into a ball, and wiped his tear-streaked face. He then reached out to try to touch something, and hit cold stone.
"Lady of the North!!" He bellowed. "I have an answer for you!! It is no! Never!"
There was no response. Suddenly, there was something cool, smooth, and hard in his hand. Though he could not see it, he knew what it was: the diamond. He had beaten the Lady of the North. The hard stone floor disappeared and Syaoran felt around on the ground. He was blind, though, he knew that his eyesight would come back. He was now sitting on a patch of cool, damp grass, and the sound of water rushing by filled his ears.
"You are at the River Severen," an airy voice came down through the breeze. "You won my challenge skillfully, and I hope that, like the one before you, you use that jewel to save the Priestess... only this time, I hope that you two can be together; like he wanted it to be."
Syaoran just listened. He knew it was the Lady of the North, and he knew that he won, the only thing that was unclear to him, was what she just said. Who was this other person that had beaten her before? But he did not ask, he just sat there, blindly staring at the river that was before him.
His limbs ached and he was extremely tired, but he knew that he had to move on. But his body would not let him and he slowly drifted to sleep, he tried to fight it but his fight was futile. Though he knew that if he tried to stay awake he would not be able to continue, so he let hi body win, and fell into a deep slumber.
~-~
He was visited again in his dream, but this time, it was not all black. He seemed to be in a field of flowers, not unlike the one that he was in when the Priestess was captured. He wondered lazily if he would ever get a rest in which he didn't have to go anywhere. Syaoran didn't really mind anyways; it was peaceful there, and he felt happy.
"It is nice here, is it not?" A woman's voice said from behind him.
Syaoran spun around, and saw Sakura sitting on the ground, playing with a flower chain. She was wearing what she had worn when she had been abducted.
"How?"
Sakura smiled at him. "I suppose you still think that the last dream you had was reality."
Syaoran did not say anything; he only stared at her.
"Well, I will not patronize you, but I am a bit disappointed in you." She gave a mischievous smile. "I am not THAT mean."
Syaoran did not smile back.
"Ok, I am sorry," Sakura said sheepishly and stood up. She walked over to him and put the flower chain around his neck. "Cheer up! You got the first jewel, and I am not dead!" No matter how happy she sounded, though, the unspoken "yet" lingered about their silence.
"Yes, you are right," Syaoran spoke for the first time.
Sakura smiled at him. "Shall we walk?" she started to move in the direction of a small grove of woods.
"Why did the Lady of the North just send me away?" Syaoran said, hurrying a bit to catch up.
"I do not know," Sakura said dreamily.
"She was talking about something strange," he said, pressing the matter. "Something about another man, and another Priestess. And the man, he could not be with the Priestess; no matter how much he wanted to. And, something about using the stone to help her."
"WOW!" Sakura skipped in front of him and turned to look at him, walking backwards so that she could do so. "You CAN speak more than three words at one time! You can even speak three sentences at one time!"
Syaoran glared at her. Sakura smiled back. They stared at each other for a minute, before realizing that they were staring, and looking away quickly.
"Well," Sakura said. "There was a priestess a long, long time ago, that was in love with a prince." She thought for a minute. "I know that they could not be with each other, but there is nothing in the legends about a stone." She pointed to her circlet. "It is how the Priestesses got this."
Syaoran nodded. "Well, if it is legend, then we never know what really happened."
Sakura nodded. "True." She grinned at him. "Well, you have to go find that chest next... unless you want to rush in and capture me."
Syaoran grimaced. "Which would be better? And, how long can you survive?"
"I can last as long as I need to." Sakura said. "Most of the power that comes from the pendant is the will to live."
Syaoran nodded. "He is not torturing you, is he?"
Sakura paused.
"He is," Syaoran said.
"Well, he is not torturing me physically," Sakura replied slowly.
"Torture is torture," Syaoran added bitterly.
Sakura sighed. "Just do what you need to do. I can last."
Syaoran turned to face her and took her hand. "I do not want you to be in pain."
"Well, if it is what is needed, then so be it." Sakura said firmly. "Get the Chest first," she said.
"But - "
Sakura cut him off. "No buts. You will get the Chest first. I will be fine. Do not worry about me." She smiled up at him again, looking into his eyes. She then reached up and touched them. Syaoran closed his lids in reflex. "You will need your sight sooner than it shall come back," she said.
~-~
Suddenly, Syaoran was awake again. This time, though, he could see. He was in the forested region by the river. He looked at the sky and realized that it was about noon. He stood up and checked that everything was there, including the gem. After he made sure that everything was there, he started off along the bank of the stream. Only a few minutes had passed until he realized that he had forgotten to ask where the Chest was located in the first place.
WOO HOOO!! Our second chapter is done!! Yayay!
-Naoko
I know! I feel so spezzial!
-Sakura
*Holds up Syaoran's sword* review or I shall eat you.
-Naoko
What's the Sword for?
-Sakura
. GIVE THAT BACK!
-Syaoran
YAY! *jumps on Syaoran*
-Sakura
I wish Legato was here...
-Naoko
If they owned CCS, It would be the worst manga in the world.
-Kuri-chan
We heard that...
-Sakura and Naoko
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Well, there doesn't appear to be any references in this chapter other than the fact that time is told by "suns" (days) "seasons" (years) and moons (months). For possible future reference, since the ancient Celts referred to months by the cycles of the moon, there are thirteen months, instead of twelve. Hence, thirteen is a holy number in their mythology. WOW!