Tears of Tyranny

Part One

To Flee the Fallen Flag

By Onyx Dawn

Chapter Three

Mister Minister Man

"For attempting to flee the ghetto, you and your companion are to be taken to the Minister's Prison to await a meeting with the gallows," he said shortly. He didn't look at all pleased or gloating, but rather sad and empathetic. Did he understand what they were going through? Did he care? Sakura had raised her head, though her body was still pressed to the ground, and examined the horrible scene before her. The weight of the nameless soldier she had killed pounded on her shoulders, and suddenly she felt as if she deserved nothing less than a 'meeting with the gallows'.

Above her, Sakura heard Tomoyo sob.

"Get up," the man said softly, bending down and picking Sakura up by the arms. "It's what you get for breaking the rules so severely." He handed a handkerchief from his pocket to Tomoyo; she blatantly turned away and huffed, trying to quell her tears on her own. Sakura said nothing as she looked at the ground, wishing that there was a pattern in the glass-like pavement to pick out and follow with her eyes.

"How far away is the prison?" Sakura asked after a moment, wondering if they might get the chance to escape during the trip. She had once seen a young woman and her baby carried off to the Prison and her guard hadn't return for nearly two months. Sakura hoped that the majority of those two months had been spent on the trip; then she would have reason to hope.

"A few days ride from here," said the guard, beginning to walk. Sakura and Tomoyo, seeing no other option, followed him away from the line of soldiers and to a dark green jeep parked a few blocks away. Sakura felt her hopes falter at the thought of driving in the jeep the whole way there. She had completely forgotten about any other mode of transportation that wasn't walking, simply because they weren't allowed to travel any other way through the ghetto. The guard pushed her into the jeep behind Tomoyo and they drove off.

Within a few minutes they reached the end of the ghetto and the guard got out of the car to talk to a few important-looking men in grey uniforms. After a few moments they all nodded and went to open the large gate that led to the world outside. Despite the severity of the occasion, Sakura could not help the small part of her that marvelled at the sight of trees. Only a few times within the last few years had she actually come close enough to the fence to see the tall, swaying branches and rain of leaves that came during the fall. The bright reds and yellows, oranges and purples, astounded her.

The jeep ran over many of the leaves, though, and Sakura was strongly reminded of the life she had taken. She sunk away from the window and rested her head on the cloth seat. Tomoyo took her hand and rubbed her thumb in circles just over her palm, a relaxing motion that put Sakura to sleep within moments. Time crept slowly along with the sun as it fell the last few stages into the glorious pink and purple horizon. Tomoyo stayed awake, ever watching the driving guard as they ambled slowly (for a jeep) past trees, fields, and ghettos.

Some time later, when the sun was beginning to creep up behind them, Sakura woke up to find her head leaning against Tomoyo's shoulder. Tomoyo was still awake, watching the guard as he turned the steering wheel an inch or so to the left along with the slightly curving road. Sakura rested her head once again on Tomoyo's shoulder and closed her eyes, not to go to sleep, but rather just to know that she had her cousin there to comfort her while her thoughts wandered on murder and death.

Sakura could not remember what she had dreamed the night before, but it had left her shaken and very frightened of the outside realm around her. Once, Sakura had believed that outside would be comforting because it was not stuffy and crowded like the ghetto. However, the unfamiliar wide open spaces scared her something fierce, and she wished desperately that she had never said a word tonight about the government. Then she thought about the injustice of it all. Why did she and Tomoyo deserve to be killed simply for talking about freedom? What kind of land did they live in?

The answer, however, was glaringly obvious. They lived in the land of the Minister, the nameless man who ruled with an iron fist. Sakura could see his face in her mind. The sharp chin and glowering grey eyes that could have killed in a more literal world; Sakura saw that face twist into a smile and the clouds disappeared from his stormy eyes. He seemed younger, in her mind, than he'd ever been in those posters that said 'Long live the Minister!' His face twisted slightly and became a girl's face, though she still looked remarkably like the Minister.

Swan, you long-necked monster, get back here! Sakura could almost hear laughter, but the sound of the jeep's roaring engine rushing to a halt caught her out of the daze that had taken her. She lifted her head from Tomoyo's shoulder and saw that the sun had risen to a midpoint in the sky. Tomoyo's eyes followed the guard as he got out of the jeep and walked up to a man on the side of the road. The stranger had dark brown hair and a slightly pale complexion. Sakura cocked her head to the side, thinking he looked slightly familiar. After an instant, however, the stranger turned away and the guard came back, getting into the jeep and driving off without a second glance back.

Sakura went to sleep on and off as the trip progressed. Her muscles began to seize up a little and she felt in desperate need of a stretch, but they didn't stop. Tomoyo stayed awake, always staring at the guard, unblinking, with an eerie poise of grace about her that Sakura had never noticed before. The earth revolved in its own little circle, making the sun appear to climb and fall from the glorious sky almost five times before the trip was over. At last the jeep halted once more, while Sakura was asleep. She jerked awake and sat bolt up, staring at the palace before her in awe.

Surely this was a dream.

Golden turrets jutted into the sky, illuminated by the falling sun. The castle windows glittered and sparkled like fireflies, and in her confusion, Sakura could have sworn that they danced around the walls. In front of them stood a huge golden gate, blocking entrance to a long curling pathway that led up to a magnificent door, almost has large as the apartment buildings back at the ghetto. Sakura had never believed anything this wonderful could exist, and the thought that it housed a very evil man seemed preposterous. Surely any man who could spend their time designing and building this could not have a spark of evil in them.

The thing about the palace that caught Sakura's eye was the fact that it revolved around simplicity. Though the castle looked golden in front of the golden light of the sun, it was truly a remarkable white marble with swirls of grey and black. The grounds were huge, covered in wild flowers, willow trees, a pond, and birds galore. It took Sakura more than a moment to realize that the guard had pulled her out of the jeep and the three of them were walking through the open golden gates. As they came upon the palace, a building to the right caught Sakura's attention.

'The Minister's Prison' read the very fine, large, cursive print on the door of the small marble building. The guard pushed them inside, bringing them into a gloomy hall. He pushed them a bit more, past cells with perfectly innocent-looking people in them, to a huge glass wall that revealed a room with a square table and several chairs in the middle of it. The guard pushed them inside, and Sakura noticed that where the large window should have been, there was a mirror. She frowned and took the seat offered by another guard.

Tomoyo sat down next to her and tore her gaze from their old guard to the new one. He sat down across from them and scowled, wrinkling his temples in a way that made his white sideburns go black in shadow. He had light brown eyes and was imposingly tall, standing almost so high that Sakura had to turn her head at a seventy degree angle to meet his eyes when he stood up. When he spoke, his voice was oily and sounded like velvet being rubbed the wrong way. It sent shivers through Sakura's body, and she felt Tomoyo tense next to her.

"So, yeh've decided to break yer promise," he said quietly, but his voice echoed in the tiny room like a booming voice would in an empty dining hall. It frightened Sakura even more; so much so that she had to clutch to Tomoyo's shoulder in order to prevent herself from whimpering. "Well, that's a sure road t' death." It took a moment for all of his words to sink into Sakura, and puzzlement began to replace her fear. Promise? She thought, we've made no promise to this tyrannical government. She glanced at Tomoyo and mentally beat herself. Of course we wouldn't.

"I don't see how saying a few brief words about freedom breaks my promise to the Minister, sir," Tomoyo said smoothly. Sakura had never heard that voice, and it frightened and puzzled her even more than the guard. He pulled out a tape recorder and set it on the table.

"Yeh don't?" he asked her, sounding mockingly puzzled. He pressed the 'play' button with his index finger.

"It's alright," Tomoyo's reassuring voice filled the room, creating the same eerie echo the guard's had. "You deserve to know, of course…freedom is like the world on anti-depressants, permanently. Not the best way to describe it, I guess, I've never taken an anti-depressant." For a few moments there was silence. Sakura finally gathered the courage she had been saving over the past few days and spoke quietly.

"How does that," her voice broke slightly, "Condemn us to death, Mister Minister Man?" She hadn't meant to sound so cheeky, but she knew there was no reason to cry over spilt milk. Tomoyo flinched next to her and the guard drew a sharp breath. He looked as if he might slap Sakura for her disrespect, but he pressed the rewind button on the machine again and let new words fill the room. They were words Sakura had never heard from Tomoyo in her life. Indeed, it sounded as if she were muttering the words under her breath and her hitched breathing indicated that she had probably been at work when she said this.

"I don't even know what the use is anymore…Sakura can take care of herself and they wouldn't arrest her for something I did. The Minister doesn't deserve my compliance anymore…" her voice broke off and a bell sounded, sounding very fuzzy in the tape recorder. A few minutes later the sounds of picking up followed, and then Tomoyo muttered something else. "A world on anti-depressants. What a nice way to put it." The guard put his finger on the fast forward button. He pressed play again.

"It's alright, you deserve to know, of course…freedom is like the world on anti-depressants, permanently." The guard pressed his finger on the stop button.

"Not enough to condemn yeh, eh?" he asked, sounding almost joyful. "Of course, yeh killed th' guard, so that'll be enough to have yeh tortured." He stood up and gripped Tomoyo's arm roughly, pulling her up so suddenly that she cried out in pain. Sakura tensed and felt her blood boiling. Maybe it hadn't been such a bad thing to kill that man. The guard grabbed Sakura's arm as well and dragged them out of the room.

He dragged them so quickly through the corridor that Sakura could not match her steps to his. At last she gave up and allowed herself to be dragged, like Tomoyo, who hadn't even tried to walk in the first place. They didn't stop for several minutes, and the sound of the guard's boots hitting the floor steadily filled Sakura's senses like the TV did when she had saved up enough time to watch it. When they stopped, she felt as if her time had run out during her favourite program until she realized just exactly where she was. She sent Tomoyo a terrified glance, trying to catch her attention, but Tomoyo's attention was on the two people in the cell.

Tomoyo, somehow, seemed to know these people.

"I've not broken my word," the Minister reassured his daughter. "No, she betrayed me by attempting to flee the ghetto. Sakura killed one of my guards."

"That's a lie!" Li roared, lunging once again at the Minister. Alysuoun didn't stop him this time, and it took six guards' interference to save the Minister from vital injury. Throughout the attack, the Minister did not move an inch. His facial expression remained the same stoic lack of emotions. After a moment he sighed and shook his head sadly.

"Let us go, men," he told his guards, and they left.

A few moments of silence followed before Alysuoun asked "Well, what do you make of it?"

Li sat back down in his corner and folded his elbows over his knees, letting his hands dangle. "I don't know," he said quietly. "I don't think-Sakura would never kill somebody, not even one of the Minister's guards. It just isn't in her nature; you remember how she always smiled. She always smiled." A slight grin came to his face as a picture of Sakura, so young and innocent, played in his mind. She was laughing at something Alysuoun had said, but a part of her was focused on Tomoyo's singing. He could tell because of the dazed, happy look in her emerald green eyes.

Alysuoun sighed. "Four years can do any number of things to a person. I mean not even you or me are the same as we were back then. The Minister's change changed us all." She sat down next to him again. "And hey, if they are here, at least it'll be us four again. Even if they do kill us shortly afterward…I think the Minister's starting to give up hope that I'll give him my service. But think, you and Sakura. Me and Tomoyo could gossip about Eriol and leave you two alone." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Shut your trap," Li told her coldly. She giggled.

"Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say," she said with feigned sadness. Then she perked up and smiled. "I guess I'll just have to leave you with Tomoyo, that way I can have Sakura all to myself. Very pretty girl…"

Li's eyebrows went up. "Since when," he said calmly, "Do you have interest in girls?"

Alysuoun shrugged. "Since forever," she said naughtily. "It's fun to discuss hot guys with them, don't you think?" Li scowled and shook his head, muttering something that sounded oddly like 'girls'. "Well, at least we know four years in this hell hole hasn't changed us too much," she added, smile disappearing. Li shrugged half heartedly. The sound of footsteps came from the corridor and they both looked up.

Alysuoun almost screamed when she saw the two people she'd missed most in the world for the past two years. Sakura and Tomoyo both looked remarkably similar to how they had way back when, albeit they both looked unhealthily skinny and a bit clammy. Tomoyo's hair was still waist-length, ebony in colour except for when light shown on it the right way and it flashed a vibrant bluish-purple. Her lavender eyes were dull, however; not at all the same bright and youthful orbs they'd been four years ago.

Sakura's eyes, similarly, were not the same sparkly emerald green. Alysuoun had never believed that eyes could change colour over time, but now she saw proof of it. Sakura's eyes were still green, but the colour was faded. Her hair was still short and brown, of course, and somehow there was still a spark of naivety about her that they had always made fun of. The guard who had been escorting them opened the cell and threw them in. Tomoyo fell and didn't bother to move for several moments, but Sakura got up immediately and rushed over to help her cousin.

"Tomoyo," she whispered, shaking her shoulders. Tomoyo squeezed her eyes tightly and sat up, wrapping her arms around her legs. She scooted against the wall and Sakura sat down next to her, similar to how Alysuoun had sat down next to Li to comfort him. Tomoyo's lips twitched slightly as she met Li's eyes.

"Long time no see," she said quietly. "I've missed you guys."

Sakura furrowed her brow in surprise. She looked over to the two strangers. Li smiled at her. "I've missed you, too," he said softly. Alysuoun nodded.

"Same," she said.

Sakura tried to figure out…were these figures from her past? Perhaps they had known Tomoyo and Sakura before the accident four years ago. Anyway, she decided to ask. "Who are you?"

At this, Li's eyes widened and Alysuoun's head dropped to her chest in a defeated manner.

"They're old friends," Tomoyo explained, and left it at that.

Tomoyo handed Li the paper. He glanced at the dress and tried to picture Sakura in it. The image it brought to his mind took his breath away. He grinned at Tomoyo and nodded. "She'll look beautiful in this," he told her. "Absolutely stunning. You're a genius, Tomoyo." She beamed at him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Absolute genius?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Absolute genius," he agreed. He couldn't get the image of Sakura wearing that dress out of his mind. The ball tonight would be wonderful.

The screams wafted down the empty corridor; Tomoyo had disappeared. Sakura stood in front of him, wearing the long green dress that matched her eyes and fit her form, revealing just enough to make his mouth go dry. Li ignored the screams and smiled at her, holding his arm out. Sakura took it and kissed his temple lovingly. "We're going to have so much fun tonight," she whispered. The voice was her own, but somehow more seductive. For once, Li actually thought there might be a hidden meaning in her words.

He blushed. The screams persisted, growing louder and louder. Sakura's eyes seemed to have a red glow to them, but he ignored it because he just wanted to have a fun time tonight, like she said they would. The dining hall was empty; the screams seemed to be coming from invisible people just out of reach. Sakura put her arms around his shoulders and put her head against his chest. The screams became their music and they danced to the night.

Tomoyo appeared in the corner, took one look at Sakura, and started shaking her head. "No, no," she said, sounding a bit angry. "That's not what I wanted at all." Li, surprised, looked back down at the dress. It had turned bright pink and frilly, something like the dress Sakura had promised she would never be caught dead wearing. He pushed her away.

"This isn't you," he told her.

"No, no, that's not right at all. Get the tailor!" Tomoyo disappeared, leaving a room full of screams and the young couple. Sakura's face changed into a boy's, though he still wore the pink dress. He backed away from Li with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" he asked, "No kiss? I thought I deserved one after fooling you so well."

"Go away, Eriol," Li said. "Go away, please." And he did. Eriol disappeared and Li was left alone in a room of invisible people, all screaming in anguish and agony. He could not pick out the words they spoke, but he knew they condemned the Minister. Li turned around, trying to find the exit, but it wasn't there anymore. He was in the dungeon, even though the screams still persisted around him.

Sakura was there in a horrible brown skirt that looked as if it had gone through hell and back. She had a pair of scissors in her hand and Tomoyo's words rang through the cell. "No, no, that's not right at all. I didn't want that. Get the tailor." Sakura moved around Li, whose feet were now planted firmly to the ground, and put the point of the scissors at the base of his neck.

"Yes, Sakura, that's exactly what I wanted. See, it'll be such a nice costume, but costumes can't have brains. Mix up his head." Li wanted to scream. He felt the scissors puncture the base of his neck and he crumbled. He was dead, but perfectly aware of the scissor clawing through his head, jumbling his brain into a pile of mush.

Tomoyo's laughter filled the room, punctuated only by the sound of Sakura's anguished wail.

To be continued…

AN: Updates will be completely spontaneous. This has not been looked over by my beta, Kathleen, so it may take longer than normal to get the next chapter up. Thank you.