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Chapter 5
"'Eriol go make the arrangements.' Why do I always have to make the arrangements? Is he incapable or something?" Eriol raged to himself as he angrily stomped down the stairs. "I have to get tickets to the most back-ass-ward planet in the system. But no that's not all, we're also wanted by just about every clan, village, and family there. So I have to find a safe place to land. And we're bringing Her Highness! Gread looked up. "You—you insolent little peasant! How dare you insinuate—"
As the rather large man turned a nasty shade of red, Eriol stepped back. "Of course, why would you remember me, your son, whom you haven't seen in…" He paused, deliberately baiting the mane. "Oh yes, seven years? Why should you?"
"My son, my Eriol is dead. He died the day he left this castle and violated my authority." The old man growled looking more like a sick old man then the flaming terror Eriol remembered. "And as I recall, he vowed never to return again."
S9CYou—you insolent little peasant! How dare you insinuate—"
As the rather large man turned a nasty shade of red, Eriol stepped back. "Of course, why would you remember me, your son, whom you haven't seen in…" He paused, deliberately baiting the mane. "Oh yes, seven years? Why should you?"
"My son, my Eriol is dead. He died the day he left this castle and violated my authority." The old man growled looking more like a sick old man then the flaming terror Eriol remembered. "And as I recall, he vowed never to return again."
Shaking his head, Eriol continued down the hall. "Funny, I thought things might change, but apparently I was wrong. I won't make the same mistake again. Good day—" He turned back to look at the noble, a dirty grin on his face. "Father." And he ran suppressing the giggles, leaving the man gaping and red.
Two halls over, he had to stop, catch his breath, and hen burst out into laughter. For five minutes he leaned over his knees, wheezing and laughing alternately. But then a sound pulled him out of that routine.
Just the slightest intake of breath and Eriol knew of the other person in the hall. Another sniff. He crept towards the dark corner and saw her. A young girl crouched there, her head buried in her knees with a small hiccup every once in a while.
"Are you alright Miss?" Eriol asked, moving very slowly as if approaching a skittish animal.
The girl raised her head, brown locks falling in her face and shielding her eyes, "You could understand the feeling of one's life falling apart before one's very eyes." She talked and Eriol slunk closer. "Something, a very small thing really, is now turning my life upside down and inside out. Rather like the fight you had with your father, before you left the castle." A thin line of a smile showed between the strands of her hair.
"Yes, my father wanted things I didn't, he wanted the army and I the university. So I left."
"If only I too could change my circumstances, but for me it is not so easy." She looked up tears flecking her eyes.
"Sakura?" Eriol spoke without thinking and in shock.
She closed her eyes for a long time as if hoping he would leave. "Yes," she opened them. "I have some work to do now. Don't fret over your father; with the passage of time he and everyone else will come to accept you."
There was something creepy in those pale eyes.
"Mother really didn't like it, but I told her the best way to protect me was to get me as far away from Sal as possible. The Father talked to her and she agreed, very reluctantly, but at least she agreed." Tomoyo smiled brightly and walked around picking things up and putting them down in other places. She was the type of person that infuriated servants. "I'm really excited by it! I've never been off planet before."
Syaoran tipped his chair back against the wall and looked up. "Do you always talk to yourself? Or do you have some kind of verbal diary?"
"This room is haunted and I'm telling the ghosts, so they won't be lonely." She giggled. "I guess no one told you. The old seer died in here, making her last prediction." Tomoyo giggled again. "I don't remember the whole thing, but it goes something like this: In the dead of the night and through the sands, the daughter born of Royal Blood, within whom the blood—the magic of the lands—flows, will…will…well she does something involving the Last Dragon Egg and it mentions a bunch of other people too. Anyway the spirit of the old seer is said to haunt these rooms, the rooms of the girl in her protection." Tomoyo flopped on the couch. "Pretty much the whole palace knows."
"So that's why Sal took you." Syaoran stated directly. "But then why has he gone in search of the egg if he knows he can't find it?"
She shrugged, another very un-princess-like action. "The point is he won't, because you have me." She turned to face him.
"How do you know all of this?"
"The flower of court hears a lot but tells very little." She hummed. "Shouldn't we be leaving soon?"
"As soon as Eriol gets back with the supplies." He stretched and looked around the room. "We'll be leaving through the passages in this room."
"You know them well then?"
"Well enough." Syaoran walked towards the wall. "I have a photographic memory. And that little flower of yours, I caught the sight of her leaving the other day, so I know this is a tow way door, unlike some of the other ones. It won't be much longer now."
Tomoyo nodded and slowly paced, lost in thought of things past and to come. The room remained silent for a long time, filling the air with apprehension.
"Okay," Eriol flung open the door. "We don't have a lot of time. The ship we want leaves in two hours; here's the clothes I bought. And we're traveling as rich merchants. The trip will take about five days." He smiled brightly. "All that's left is the story. Who would you rather be married to, me or Syaoran?"
Tomoyo fell backwards on her bed, looked around at everything, and promptly burst into tears. She fingered the coarse cloth and thought of her own silky smooth gowns, gowns seamstresses had spent weeks, even months, creating. The tears slipped down her cheeks silently, creating wet splotches on her "new" outfit.
"Princess…" Eriol placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't!" She swipped her hand across her eyes. "Don't call me that! I'm Tomoyo, the young maid traveling with you. I just need a moment."
Eriol nodded and reluctantly walked over to Syaoran. "We'll leave you alone so you can change."
She nodded, scooped up the dress, and stepped behind a screen. "You don't have to leave. I'm fine now."
"It won't work Eriol." Syaoran said in a low voice. "Maybe we can pass her off as a cousin or something, but not on Aisha. There she'll have to be married to one of us like you said and it's best to use the same story the whole time. This is getting complicated." He sighed.
"We can't push her."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're a little enamored with her." Syaoran teased.
"Okay, I'm ready." Tomoyo stepped out in a billowy white blouse, long brown skirt, and a pair of patent leather boots. "It's a little old fashioned don't you think?" She fingered the cloth again. "And not very well made either." She twirled in front of the mirror. "But it will do."
"She's much better looking in the silks, but this isn't horrible…"
Eriol elbowed Syaoran in the side. "Let's just get going."
They approached the wall and Syaoran placed two hands on the stone. The wall directly beneath his hands melted away, creating a small hole. Eriol shoved his hands into the empty air and the hole quickly became big enough for one very skinny man to walk through.
"Well, suck it in Syaoran." Eriol grinned.
And so, once again, the three stepped into the dank tunnels.
"Eriol, we could use some light if you can manage it." Syaoran dropped the teasing as he gropped along the wall.
On the tip of Eriol's first two fingers, a small yellow flame grew. "It's easier in here. This stone must block out the worst of the dampeners."
"Dampeners?" Tomoyo asked stepping down.
"Yes, this world is full of them and all natural too. It's a real pain for me, but then off world I can really stretch."
"Stretch? Do you mean magic?"
"Yea, it's a trait of my family, but only the people who get off this rock ever figure it out. And not many of us have left."
For a good hour they tramped through the tunnels with minimal light. The tunnels were obviously in poor condition; water trickled down the walls and large rocks jutted out of the path at odd places. At first Tomoyo looked around at everything with a sort of fascination, but nothing really changed, and the fascination grew to distress. And still they plodded farther and farther into the dark.
Then, the tunnel ended. Syaoran walked face first into the stone and swore loudly. "Shit! Where did this come from?" He ran a hand across it, noting the smoothness and tiny hair line cracks. "It's a door, but unlike any I've seen."
Eriol stepped up to it, mumbling under is breath. "Great, just great, lovely. No handle, no hinges…"
"it's magic!" Tomoyo squealed. "Sakura comes down her sometimes, but she says only a real sorcerer can open it." She looked at him.
"Oh, I'm not a sorcerer. Okay, those guys study for years and years before anything. I'm too young." Eriol defended himself and Tomoyo narrowed her eyes, the message clear, try or die. "Fine, fine, fine." He pushed up his sleeves and laid his hands gently on the door. They glowed a soft blue and the door pushed itself open.
Light blinded them, leaving bluish-purple spots in their vision. A warm breeze blew in their faces.
"Damn it," Syaoran swore again. "Living in the Palace, I forgot, night is shorter out here, only a few hours."
"What?" Tomoyo asked very confused
"Inside the castle engineers programmed the windows to start tinting about every twelve hours. So it's dark half the time and light the other half." Eriol explained. "Out here, night only lasts four hours. And so people nap during the hottest parts of the day."
"Okay, we're got an hour to make it to the station." Syaoran pointed at the crowd. "And that is in our way."
Tomoyo squared her shoulders and straightened her dress. "Then we'd best get a move on." She marched purposefully into the crowds without once looking back.
"For someone who was crying over this an hour ago, she's certainly taking this by the reigns." Syaoran stared for a moment and then followed.
"Yea," Eriol said still focusing on the sight.
The crowd was thick with screaming babies, rowdy children, and mothers attempting to regain control they never really had in the first place .Venders bantered noisily, instant on finding the best deal while still smiling politely. Thieves dipped into pockets, carpenters and blacksmiths practiced their craft, and the bourgeoisie strutted about as if they owned the whole world. Just another good old market day.
Syaoran managed to catch up with Tomoyo first, but let Eriol take her hand. And a good thing he did too because she had just started speaking with a young man—a young man who looked a little too interested.
"Hello dear." Eriol slipped his hand into Tomoyo's. "We don't want to be late, so let's hurry up."
She nodded sweetly, following his lead. "It was nice chatting with you."
After that little incident, they managed to stay together fairly well. Every once in a while Syaoran would lose sight of the other two in the crowd or they might step to inspect some cloth, blending in with the scene. But it never took long for him to catch back up. It worked well, at least until Syaoran caught a boy trying to steal from him. He grabbed the boy's hand and was in the process of giving a severe lecture when a small gang of slightly bigger boys walked up.
"Just hand over the money." The apparent leader of the group spoke up. "Just give it and we won't cause a scene or nothing."
Syaoran looked him over and released the boy. "And if I refuse?"
"That wouldn't be in your best interest." The leader grinned. "But I'd enjoy it." He swung a punch.
Ducking, Syaoran kicked out his leg and knocked the boy over. And after that, the rest of the boys joined in the fray. Ten sets of arms and legs and who knew how many blunt objects suddenly attacked Syaoran. And obviously he didn't have the skills to defend against them all.
He flipped out at away from the fight, breaking into a run the moment his feet hit the ground. They boys followed intent on fighting until they beat Syaoran or were defeated themselves. Reaching under his shirt, Syaoran fingered his weapon, knowing the victory would come down to it. More for self-protection than anything else, he withdrew the short brown stick. A remnant of lost technology, Syaoran pressed the small button on the side and liquid metal flowed out to form a sword.
Chaos ensued in the market.
And Syaoran's opponent grew exponentially. He scanned the area for Eriol and Tomoyo, but couldn't find them in the large mess. The gang members attacked, most with clubs, pipes, and other makeshift weapons.
Syaoran found himself ducking, jumping, and blocking less attacks then neccassary and gaining more bruises then desired. If this carried on much longer, then the guard would most certainly get involoved. And that would be bad, real bad.
He spotted Eriol through a hole in the attack, glanced at the crowd, and ran.
"Time to go!" he yelled snatching Tomoyo as he ran by.
Eriol quickly followed and threw something over his shoulder. "We've only got twenty minutes!"
"What was that for?" Syaoran pointed back at the now smoky market.
"Oh, just a little distraction." Eriol grinned.
With the white smoke filling the square and distorting the air, their attackers lost the quarry.
The large hanger at the edge of town quickly came into sight. A loud whooose was heard over head and Eriol, Tomoyo, and Syaoran ran in. The ship left, flying right over them and into space.
"Damn it!" Syaoran screamed kicking the ground. "We have to leave! We have to leave now!"
"Why?" Tomoyo asked all sweet and innocent.
"Because our good friend Sal is the one who sent those men to tail us! Don't you have a brain! They had way too much experience to be just your run of the day gang!"
"You all need a ship?" An old man in the corner piped up. All three turned and stared. "I got one, kinda rusty, but she'll fly."
"I'm sorry," Eriol spoke, the first one to come out of shock. "Are you offering us a ride on your ship?"
"Hell no!" He unsteadily hauled himself up with the assistance of a cane. In the light, his white hair didn't shine with healthy, his skin revealed a waxy greasy look, and a cloth covered his eyes. "I want to sell 'er to ya. Can't pilote the damn thing anymore."
Syaoran glanced around, obviously in a rush. "how much you asking for?"
The man leaned heavily on his walking stick, his legs not able to support him. "For you, not less then a hundred."
"A hunded!" Eriol exclaimed. "But the starting price for a hunk of metal that CAN'T fly is at least five times that!"
He stood just a little straighter and smiled enigmatically. "Just think of that.I'd give you my angel if I thought you'd take her." He laughed clear and tinkling like a bell. "What would I do with five hundred gold? I can't even spend a hundred." The clunk of his wooden stick echoed down the hall as he plodded away. "Well, you comin' or not?"
Eriol looked over at Syaoran. "We do need a ship."
"Alright." Syaoran started down the hall, wary of the strange old man. "let's just go. We don't have time to waste."
They didn't walk far. The old man stopped about a hundred feet down the tunnel. "That's her, that's my Angel."
"Phah!" Eriol balked at the large pile of rusted junk metal. "Hang on, you can't possibly call that a ship."
That curious little smirk never left his face. "It takes more the just eyes. You of all people should know that."
Tomoyo gasped. "But-but that-that's—" And she clutched her hands to her mouth holding back the words.
Syaoran glanced at her suspicious of the sudden silence. "it's what, Tomoyo?"
"Never going to fly." She stated a bit flatly after that out burst. Now she had everyone's attention. "Well look at it!"
"You wound me my lady," The old man continues to smirk and didn't look hurt at all. "My Angel will most definitely fly. She ain't in the best a shape, but she always done me proud."
Taking a few steps forward, Syaoran ran his hands over the hull, noting the nicks, dents, and smooth places. "If you say she'll fly, then we'll take her."
The old man approached the ship as a father would his daughter and gently rubbed his hand across the hull, muttering softly. When he stepped back, tears glistened in his eyes. "Angel and I have been through a lot together. But maybe you're the ones to entrust her to now."
Tomoyo put her hand on his. "We'll take good care of her for you."
"Sweet lady," The old man leaned in close. "I have no doubt of that, but let me leave you with a parting piece of advice: the royal imposter can live as he or she lives, without guilt."
"But why tell me this?"
"Because you are the one who binds this group together. Without you, this mission fails."
"Come on Tomoyo!" Eriol shouted from the hatchway while Syaoran revved the engines. "It's time to go!"
She nodded and dashed up the ramp.
Another long chappie! Well kinda anyway. Anyway, I hope y'all liked it! Review and tell me what'ch'all think!